A quick, easy-to-link-to list of every post in the Chronological Animated Disney Canon Project, for those who would like to read them in order (which you should, as they wouldn't make sense otherwise.) Everything up until the full reviews (starting with the Loose Ends) was originally written between 1/12/08 - 3/6/08 for one of my extinct Geocities websites.
Introduction: In Which Trish Embarks on her Plan to Watch Every Readily Available Disney Film Containing Animation in Chronological Order
Golden Age Part One: "Snow White", "Pinocchio", and "Fantasia"
Golden Age Part Two: "Dumbo" and "Bambi"
Anthology Pictures: "Saludos Amigos", "Victory Through Air Power", and "Three Caballeros"
More Anthology Pictures: "Make Mine Music", "Fun and Fancy Free", "Melody Time", and "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad"
Silver Age Part One: "Cinderella", "Alice in Wonderland", "Peter Pan", "Lady and the Tramp", and "Sleeping Beauty"
Silver Age Part Two: "101 Dalmatians", "The Sword in the Stone", "Mary Poppins", and "The Jungle Book"
The Dark (Post-Walt Disney) Age Part One: "The Aristocats", "Bedknobs and Broomsticks", "Robin Hood", "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh", and "The Rescuers"
The Dark Age Part Two: "Pete's Dragon", "The Fox and the Hound", "TRON", and "The Black Cauldron"
The Bronze Age Part One: "The Great Mouse Detective", "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", "Oliver and Company", "The Little Mermaid", "The Rescuers Down Under", and "Beauty and the Beast"
The Bronze Age Part Two: "Aladdin", "The Lion King", "Pocahontas", "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", and "Hercules"
The Dork Age Part One: "Mulan", "Tarzan", "Disney's Dinosaur", "Fantasia 2000", "The Emperor's New Groove", "Atlantis: The Lost Empire", and "Lilo and Stitch"
The Dork Age Part Two: "Treasure Planet", "Brother Bear", "Home on the Range", "Chicken Little", "Meet the Robinsons", "Enchanted", and "Bolt"
Loose End #4: "The Reluctant Dragon"
Loose End #10: "Song of the South"
Loose End #13: "So Dear To My Heart"
Loose End #41: "The Nightmare Before Christmas"
Loose End #44: "James and the Giant Peach"
#61: "The Princess and the Frog"
#62: "Tangled"
#63: "TRON: Legacy"
#64: "Winnie the Pooh"
#65: "Frankenweenie"
#66: "Wreck-It Ralph"
#67: "Frozen"
#68: "Big Hero Six"
#69: "Zootopia"
#70: "Moana"
#71: "Ralph Breaks the Internet"
#72: "Mary Poppins Returns"
#73: "Frozen 2"
#74 (eventually): "Raya and the Last Dragon"
#75: "I Don't Know, But Hopefully Something Good"
Related Posts:
"The Illusion of Life"
"Disney Goes to the Oscars!"
"The Sweatbox"
"Dream On, Silly Dreamer..."
"Waking Sleeping Beauty"
The State of the Chronological Disney Animated Canon Series
More Animation Marathons
* - The Chronological Disney Animated Canon
* - Don Bluth Month
* - Dreamworks' "Tradigitals"
* - The Short Animation Blogathon
* - My Summer of Sequels
* - Random 90's Animation
* - The Princess Project
I also very highly recommend the similar projects from the following people, even though so many of them make me look like a slacker:
* - Disney Tag at Alternate Ending
* - The Disney Film Project Blog
* - 100 Days of Disney Blog
* - Mousterpiece Cinema
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
The DAC: The Dork Age (well, mostly) part two
#54: "Treasure Planet"
As far as I know, this is the last film so far that features animation by Glen Keane. Tellingly, Long John Silver is the most interesting character in the film; his growing relationship with Jim Hawkins is especially poignant. So it has that going for it. Which is nice.
The first hour or so of the movie, full of Wayne D. Barlowe-style creatures and giddy steampunk schizo-tech, is awesome and worthy of the best of the Bronze Age. The effects are amazing and the sheer imagination onscreen is inspiring. It's too damn bad that once the initial "Wee! Space Pirates!" glee wears off, this here movie gets really annoying really fast.
For one thing, this is a Disney movie that saddles it's young hero with three annoying comic-relief sidekicks. Of these, B.E.N. is easily the single most annoying Disney sidekick in the menagerie (finally, the Canon gets it's JarJar.) The cute, pink squishy thing comes a close second.
And, once again, if there's any doubt that we're stuck in a Dork Age, it will vanish when we are introduced to the character who communicates entirely with fart noises.
Seriously.
A character in a Disney film.
Who communicates entirely through farting.
#55: "Brother Bear"
Raise a pint to the Florida Studio. This is their last movie and, certainly, their finest hour.
This movie is gorgeous. So gorgeous. The story is incredibly moving, the characters are adorable (yay Terryl Whitlatch!) and the music is terrific (yay Bulgarian Women's Choir!) I'm glad to see that this has a growing cult following online. It's another movie that's high on my good underrated Disney movies list.
Honestly, if the story of Disney Feature Animation had a happier ending (as of right now), this film would have been the beginning of a second Bronze Age (or whatever metal comes next in this metaphor [E: Iron Age, according to Ovid]). Too bad it's their last traditionally animated film.
#56: "Home On The Range"
Repeat: "Brother Bear" is their last traditionally animated film.
Welcome to the deepest, darkest doldrums of the Dork Age. Remember way, way back when I said that if some of the shorts from the Anthology Films were feature-length I'd have to consider them flops? This is what one of those flops would have looked like. I fell asleep during this movie.
It's about cows for cryin' out loud! They're not even cute; none of the characters are visually appealing at all and it is really REALLY hard to mess up the cute factor in farm animals. These creatures are all weird sharp angles and pointy bits. You're afraid you'll cut yourself.
And did I mention the country music? I'm not a big fan. As in, I abhor it the way old people fail to understand the appeal of hip-hop.
I have to admit, if this was made way back in the early fifties and (let's just talk hypothetical here) Tex Avery was the director, I'd probably be praising it as a lost classic... And then I remember that a hypothetical Tex Avery feature would actually probably be really funny, so forget it.
You know, I really ought to be nice and watch this again, so that it has a fair fight. But isn't it enough to say "I fell asleep during 'Home on the Range'?" Especially considering that I have watched some *bad* movies here, and none of them bored me to sleep. Oi.
Rumor has it that the Disney executives, anxious to shut down the traditional studio and move entirely towards CGI, purposefully switched the release dates of this and "Brother Bear", then moved this release date to an overcrowded market, and basically made a sh**y movie on purpose to prove their point. So, did making their next film in CGI magically get their quality and audience back?
#57: "Chicken Little"
"Chicken Little" opens with a Disney studios logo that is very, very like the one used for PIXAR movies. Nice try, guys.
Because this is very clearly quite a few notches down the quality-o-meter from any PIXAR movie. Again, just because you CAN render with excruciating accuracy every single feather/hair/scale/whatever on your characters doesn't mean you SHOULD (just to get an idea of what I mean, head over to Google video and compare an earlier Geico Gekko commercial to one of the most recent ones. Poor little feller got slapped with the Uncanny Valley Stick.) Also, we're still in the Dork Age. Check out the whole "frozen pee" exchange.
But on the other hand, while this isn't a classic by any stretch of the imagination, I liked it a whole lot more than I expected to. It runs all over town with Furry Confusion based humor (we need more of this), and it's kind of cute. The music is pretty good, if the fact that it's all old songs doesn’t bother you too much. Not sure what's up with the hyper-dramatic Five for Fighting song about twenty minutes in though. Good thing one of my favorite songs ever is right after it.
#58: "Meet the Robinsons"
Rumor has it that, as of right now, this is our best indication of what direction Disney Animation will be going in now that John Lasseter is head of the company. (Long story.) You can really tell right from the studio logos in the opening!
It isn't perfect. The lead characters aren't *quite* likable enough and there's some lag in the story. However, it looks like they're going in the right direction.
Many of the supporting characters are very fun, especially Bowler Hat Guy. He is the most downright fun villain they've had in a long time. The story gets very sweet at times. William Joyce for the waffles!
And was that a W.E.D.-Way Peoplemover/Tomorrowland Transit Authority cameo?
#59: "Enchanted"
It speaks volumes the fact that I still had the songs from this movie in my head since the Oscars. The songs really are terrific, and the "That's How You Know" number is a sheer triumph.
Oddly, the rest of the movie didn't get me as jazzed up. I guess I was hoping for Disney to lighten up and make a seriously funny self-inflicted affectionate parody. "Enchanted" does have some funny moments but for the most part, it holds back too much. I guess it's the same problem "Hercules" had; you can't really parody the Princess line out of one side of your mouth while going crazy with marketing the Princesses out the other side. It is sweet, and it is a fun movie, and it is like a big prize at the end of this project (I got every single reference), but it's not really a laugh riot.
#60: "Bolt"
See, here I am at the end of an animated feature and once again, I'm wondering if it would have been more appealing to me if the producers had the guts to do the entire film in the same style as the closing credits.
Because once again, Disney is in it's "let's render every scale of skin on our characters' faces because we can!" mode. And here, it looked really distracting to me. I think it's because it's the first time human characters were subjected to it. They end up looking freakish and we're stuck with them until the animals finally take over. And it's too bad that this ruined the movie for me, because the story was actually kinda neat.But I came into this movie knowing full well the extreme, shall we say, birth trauma it suffered. I can tell you this. I don't know a single "Lilo and Stitch" fan, myself included, who isn't the least bit curious to see what "American Dog" would have been like.
(Incidentally, it seems there's a special edition DVD release of "The Black Cauldron" coming soon. Sure as heck never saw that coming.)
So... Perhaps I shall pick this thread up later? "The Princess and the Frog"? "TRON 2? "Rapunzel"?
----
I'm done? I'm really done! For more posts in this ongoing series, go here, or click the Chronological Disney Animated Canon tag below.
As far as I know, this is the last film so far that features animation by Glen Keane. Tellingly, Long John Silver is the most interesting character in the film; his growing relationship with Jim Hawkins is especially poignant. So it has that going for it. Which is nice.
The first hour or so of the movie, full of Wayne D. Barlowe-style creatures and giddy steampunk schizo-tech, is awesome and worthy of the best of the Bronze Age. The effects are amazing and the sheer imagination onscreen is inspiring. It's too damn bad that once the initial "Wee! Space Pirates!" glee wears off, this here movie gets really annoying really fast.
For one thing, this is a Disney movie that saddles it's young hero with three annoying comic-relief sidekicks. Of these, B.E.N. is easily the single most annoying Disney sidekick in the menagerie (finally, the Canon gets it's JarJar.) The cute, pink squishy thing comes a close second.
And, once again, if there's any doubt that we're stuck in a Dork Age, it will vanish when we are introduced to the character who communicates entirely with fart noises.
Seriously.
A character in a Disney film.
Who communicates entirely through farting.
#55: "Brother Bear"
Raise a pint to the Florida Studio. This is their last movie and, certainly, their finest hour.
This movie is gorgeous. So gorgeous. The story is incredibly moving, the characters are adorable (yay Terryl Whitlatch!) and the music is terrific (yay Bulgarian Women's Choir!) I'm glad to see that this has a growing cult following online. It's another movie that's high on my good underrated Disney movies list.
Honestly, if the story of Disney Feature Animation had a happier ending (as of right now), this film would have been the beginning of a second Bronze Age (or whatever metal comes next in this metaphor [E: Iron Age, according to Ovid]). Too bad it's their last traditionally animated film.
#56: "Home On The Range"
Repeat: "Brother Bear" is their last traditionally animated film.
Welcome to the deepest, darkest doldrums of the Dork Age. Remember way, way back when I said that if some of the shorts from the Anthology Films were feature-length I'd have to consider them flops? This is what one of those flops would have looked like. I fell asleep during this movie.
It's about cows for cryin' out loud! They're not even cute; none of the characters are visually appealing at all and it is really REALLY hard to mess up the cute factor in farm animals. These creatures are all weird sharp angles and pointy bits. You're afraid you'll cut yourself.
And did I mention the country music? I'm not a big fan. As in, I abhor it the way old people fail to understand the appeal of hip-hop.
I have to admit, if this was made way back in the early fifties and (let's just talk hypothetical here) Tex Avery was the director, I'd probably be praising it as a lost classic... And then I remember that a hypothetical Tex Avery feature would actually probably be really funny, so forget it.
You know, I really ought to be nice and watch this again, so that it has a fair fight. But isn't it enough to say "I fell asleep during 'Home on the Range'?" Especially considering that I have watched some *bad* movies here, and none of them bored me to sleep. Oi.
Rumor has it that the Disney executives, anxious to shut down the traditional studio and move entirely towards CGI, purposefully switched the release dates of this and "Brother Bear", then moved this release date to an overcrowded market, and basically made a sh**y movie on purpose to prove their point. So, did making their next film in CGI magically get their quality and audience back?
#57: "Chicken Little"
"Chicken Little" opens with a Disney studios logo that is very, very like the one used for PIXAR movies. Nice try, guys.
Because this is very clearly quite a few notches down the quality-o-meter from any PIXAR movie. Again, just because you CAN render with excruciating accuracy every single feather/hair/scale/whatever on your characters doesn't mean you SHOULD (just to get an idea of what I mean, head over to Google video and compare an earlier Geico Gekko commercial to one of the most recent ones. Poor little feller got slapped with the Uncanny Valley Stick.) Also, we're still in the Dork Age. Check out the whole "frozen pee" exchange.
But on the other hand, while this isn't a classic by any stretch of the imagination, I liked it a whole lot more than I expected to. It runs all over town with Furry Confusion based humor (we need more of this), and it's kind of cute. The music is pretty good, if the fact that it's all old songs doesn’t bother you too much. Not sure what's up with the hyper-dramatic Five for Fighting song about twenty minutes in though. Good thing one of my favorite songs ever is right after it.
#58: "Meet the Robinsons"
Rumor has it that, as of right now, this is our best indication of what direction Disney Animation will be going in now that John Lasseter is head of the company. (Long story.) You can really tell right from the studio logos in the opening!
It isn't perfect. The lead characters aren't *quite* likable enough and there's some lag in the story. However, it looks like they're going in the right direction.
Many of the supporting characters are very fun, especially Bowler Hat Guy. He is the most downright fun villain they've had in a long time. The story gets very sweet at times. William Joyce for the waffles!
And was that a W.E.D.-Way Peoplemover/Tomorrowland Transit Authority cameo?
#59: "Enchanted"
It speaks volumes the fact that I still had the songs from this movie in my head since the Oscars. The songs really are terrific, and the "That's How You Know" number is a sheer triumph.
Oddly, the rest of the movie didn't get me as jazzed up. I guess I was hoping for Disney to lighten up and make a seriously funny self-inflicted affectionate parody. "Enchanted" does have some funny moments but for the most part, it holds back too much. I guess it's the same problem "Hercules" had; you can't really parody the Princess line out of one side of your mouth while going crazy with marketing the Princesses out the other side. It is sweet, and it is a fun movie, and it is like a big prize at the end of this project (I got every single reference), but it's not really a laugh riot.
#60: "Bolt"
See, here I am at the end of an animated feature and once again, I'm wondering if it would have been more appealing to me if the producers had the guts to do the entire film in the same style as the closing credits.
Because once again, Disney is in it's "let's render every scale of skin on our characters' faces because we can!" mode. And here, it looked really distracting to me. I think it's because it's the first time human characters were subjected to it. They end up looking freakish and we're stuck with them until the animals finally take over. And it's too bad that this ruined the movie for me, because the story was actually kinda neat.But I came into this movie knowing full well the extreme, shall we say, birth trauma it suffered. I can tell you this. I don't know a single "Lilo and Stitch" fan, myself included, who isn't the least bit curious to see what "American Dog" would have been like.
(Incidentally, it seems there's a special edition DVD release of "The Black Cauldron" coming soon. Sure as heck never saw that coming.)
So... Perhaps I shall pick this thread up later? "The Princess and the Frog"? "TRON 2? "Rapunzel"?
----
I'm done? I'm really done! For more posts in this ongoing series, go here, or click the Chronological Disney Animated Canon tag below.
Friday, June 26, 2009
The DAC: The Dork Age (well, mostly), part one
#47: "Mulan"
Now already I'm being unfair in dubbing this the Dork Age (but look at what's coming up). I am so glad I gave this movie another look. Very sweet and with truly gorgeous art direction, it's now one of my favorite underrated Disney movies.
Mulan herself deserves her own paragraph. She's easily the best Disney heroine since Belle in "Beauty and the Beast" (once again, dark-haired smart girls for the waffles). In fact, she's one of the best Disney heroines of all. Why in the world is she not a part of Disney's new Heroes line? Damn long-ingrained sexism.
It is well worth it to note that this is the first movie that was almost entirely finished at the Florida studio. (The supplemental materials cheekily note that the animators frequented Epcot's China pavilion for inspiration and "mental health breaks".) Note that most of the better and more interesting movies in this chapter all come from Florida. Man, I'm officially depressed by what happened to the studio.
#48: "Tarzan"
I promise you, I watched this movie earlier this morning. But I can't remember a thing about it except for a few sweet moments, an awesome prologue, gorgeous, gorgeous backgrounds thanks to the new Deep Canvas effects technology, and... and Rosie O'Donnell singing. This last item does not reflect well on the movie as a whole.
#49: "Dinosaur"
It all comes down to those damn lemurs, doesn't it?
If there was any doubt that we're now mired in Disney's Dork Age, it will vanish entirely at around the ten minute mark. This is where one of the monkeys is peed upon by baby Aladar (and we get to see dribbles of urine, so there is absolutely no question as to what happened. Whether dinosaurs could pee [a surprising number of animals don't produce liquid wastes] or whether babies are ever born with full bladders are both subjects I'm happy to know nothing about. But if neither is true, then the scene is just worse.) Did I mention that the only reason there are monkeys in this movie is because the executives thought we stupid primates in the audience wouldn't go and see a dinosaur movie unless there was something cute and furry for us to relate to? No, really.
I can't outdo Mr. Cranky's review, which absolutely nails everything worth complaining about in this movie. But I'll give it a try because in my opinion, "Dinosaur" gets the unhappy distinction of being Disney's Worst Animated Film. And when I call it the worst, I really mean it. Like I've said before, watching all these movies in order emphasizes just how incredible Disney's reputation has grown over the years. Seeing a crappy movie come out of them at this point is just embarrassing. And one must consider how much time and money was spent on their latest crop of movies. I don't think "Robin Hood" is the worst -though it's close- simply because it was so very obviously cheap. "Dinosaur", like "The Black Cauldron" before it, cost so much time and effort that it nearly sank the studio. That makes it much worse than a flop. Other studios have flops. "Dinosaur" is, as the kids say, an Epic Fail.
I can't remember who, but another review called this the Disney version of a Michael Bay movie and that nails it too: it is a ninety-minute long effects reel. The story is boring and a complete rip off both "Land Before Time" and "The Lion King" and every "Wah wah I don't fit in" Disney story ever told. The few original plot elements are absolutely ridiculous (we're supposed to buy the idea that a troop of bouncy tree-dwellers successfully raised a very large and heavy quadruped to adulthood?) And the characters are almost impressively unlikable and some of them are just downright ugly. Just because you *can* render every single scale of dry skin flaking off of a monkey's face doesn't mean you should.
I will say this: on DVD the movie looks and sounds very impressive. Here's the thing. You can have the most amazing animation, visual effects, music, and sound design ever to grace the eyes and ears of a mere Earthling, but if your story sucks and I don't give a pair of fetid dingo's kidneys about the characters, then you have made a bad movie. You FAIL. Simple as that.
This was the first movie to come out of the CGI and special effects studio called "The Secret Lab". Disney owned and operated this new studio and (well now this is thought-provoking) is rumored to have planned on using it exclusively if they found themselves in competition with PIXAR, who were reconsidering their distribution deal with the mouse. And who were kicking the Disney movies' butts at the box office because, you see, their scripts don't suck. This plan did not end well.
#50: "Fantasia 2000"
But how's this for a saving throw?
"Fantasia 2000" goes back to the kind of things Disney is deservedly known for: it's experimental, it's groundbreaking, it has downright amazing animation, and it makes you totally forget where you are for a while. This is easily the best Disney movie of the Aughts (Aughts? Nadas? Zilches? This decade needs a catchy nickname.) and is now my favorite under-appreciated Disney movie ever.
I have to get the bad stuff out of the way first. This movie took SIXTY YEARS to get into the theater and -here's the kicker- we almost never got to see it. You see, Walt Disney's original plan for "Fantasia" was for the film to be released every decade or so with entirely new sequences. While this is technically more like an "upgrade", it does mean that this is the only movie Disney himself ever wanted to have a sequel. And this plan didn't ever get off the ground until the early 90's. (That actually goes a long way in explaining why it feels a lot more like it belongs in the Bronze Age.)
My good old VHS copy has a lovely prologue hosted by Walt Disney's nephew Roy; totally awesome because this movie was Roy Disney's baby and he personally fought to have it made and released. He explains the legacy of the "Fantasia" films and gives a very moving overview of some especially revolutionary Disney features.
I like "Fantasia 2000" a hell of a lot more than the original "Fantasia". There. I said it. Not to knock on the original's animators (and it is an amazing movie) but this has a lot more "zip", it's funnier, and -thank goodness- it isn't so damn pretentious. (Remember back in the first post? "Fantasia". Serious. Business.) Someday, others will come to appreciate it as well. Right now, it just suffers a mean "Little Sister Complex", despite the fact that everything people complain about in this film can also be found in the original. Taking all the new material segment-by-segment:
"Symphony #5" - Trippy, man. But a little easier to take than the original's Obligatory Trippy Bit as it isn't as long and has a rudimentary story.
"Pines of Rome" - I forgot to *breathe*. This must have been unreal in IMAX. Re-release, please? Or at least another DVD release?
"Rhapsody in Blue" - A workout for later-Bronze Age animator Eric Goldberg and, rumor has it, originally a stand-alone short that rapidly mutated into "Fantasia 2000" (funnily enough, the same thing happened with "Sorcerer's Apprentice" in the original). It's very, very funny with truly gorgeous character animation of a quality we haven't seen since the heyday of the Bronze Age.
"Piano Concerto #2" - Oh, Bette Midler. Why the Dali hate? Anyway, I'm not sure if this was done by the Secret Lab. In any case, it's the nicest fully-CGI piece to come out of Disney Animation proper. The cell-shading gives it a unique look, lovely and storybook quality. (Of course, anyone surprised by the radically altered happy ending needs to watch more Disney movies.)
"Carnival of the Animals" - Very cute and funny, but way too short. Eric Goldberg headed this segment too.
"Pomp and Circumstance" - I won't get too crazy here. Donald > Mickey. Also, that blink-and-you-miss-it bit with Donald and the normal ducks is just about the greatest laugh-out-loud scene in any Disney movie ever. Bonus: Frank the Frilled Dragon is in it! ("Rescuers Down Under" director Hendel Butoy supervised much of "Fantasia 2000".) So is Donald's intimidating fighting stance!
"The Firebird" - Gorgeous. The Brizzi brothers, who directed this sequence, were rumored to have their own feature in the works. Whatever became of it? And what does the River Spirit have to do to be one of the Princesses? Or Heroes...?
I have to say, if we have to wait another sixty years for the next "Fantasia", I will be sorely p*ssed. The "Smashing Pumpkins" trick works here too.
#51: "The Emperor's New Groove"
A fun little movie that, sadly, almost nobody above the age of twelve remembers. Disney does well by movies set in South America, don't they? "Emperor" is upbeat, snappy, and a real treat. Major, major props to story contributor Mark Dindel. Disney could use a lot more of his kind of humor.
Now, although I was happily surprised by how much I liked this movie, I have to say this: don't you just wish Disney would let "The Sweatbox" out of the vaults?
#52: "Atlantis: The Lost Empire"
I forget who it was, but I like the reviewer who said that, "this is the kind of movie that opens with a quote from Plato and closes with a dedication to Jim Varney. And we all know what those movies are like, right?"
Fortunately, and even with it's flaws, "Atlantis" is now on my list of good underrated Disney movies. On DVD, it looks and sounds absolutely amazing. It moves very fast, and you have to love Mike Mignola, who inspired the film's production design. The story is very derivative of every adventure movie ever made, but it's still entertaining. It's fun to see Disney experiment with a movie that doesn't fall back on their old tropes, which were worn out at this point.
It is, to my knowledge, the only feature completed at the Disney animation studio that used to be in Europe. When it failed to make as much money as "The Lion King" had (85 million vs. 330 million; Disney has a very, very warped idea of what a flop is) the Paris studio was shut down. Class.
I am apparently obligated to point out the fact that this is possibly a totally accidental and not on purpose remake of "Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water". And to that I say, whatever. Look, I've never seen, nor even heard of "Nadia" until just now reading Wikipedia. If it's true, than yes it's very bad on Disney. But, honestly, and remember how this is coming out of a dedicated cheerleader for Anime, does anybody really care? (And let's not even get into the "Lion King"/"Kimba" thing.)
Anyway, "Atlantis" is great and I'm glad I gave it another chance. Now what does Kida have to do to be a part of the Princess line? (I will keep complaining until I am told to stop it.)
#53: "Lilo & Stitch"
Here's the last Disney animated feature I saw in theaters. It isn't one of my favorites, but it's a terrific movie nonetheless. I think I related a little too well to Lilo… You know, let's just leave it at that.
You tend to forget how emotional "Lilo and Stitch" is. Everyone remembers the twisted humor; and the movie is absolutely funny as hell. But there's a darkness there too: consider how every character in this movie is messed up somehow. And yet, they're likeable. Once again, all the emotional moments are deserved. Stitch's character arc is incredibly moving. His little "Ugly Duckling" scene at around the fifty-five minute mark is just about the single saddest Disney moment ever. (While it would have been wonderful to have Disney's "Ugly Duckling" short among the special features, at least we get the teaser trailers and they're hilarious.)
"Lilo and Stitch" was the brain child of Chris Sanders, who had mostly done character designs and storyboards. His is the kind of story that reminds me why, while I love Disney movies, it's the Disney company that I have an incredibly ambivalent relationship with. For heading the most popular of the recent Disney animated features, Disney recently rewarded Sanders by kicking him off of the production team of his planned next film "American Dog". Oh, and they also rewarded the Florida studio employees for making "Lilo and Stitch" by firing them all and shutting down the studio. Oh yeah. Totally makes sense.
----
We're almost done! Next post: more disappointment and the latest Disney films at the time of writing. For more posts in this series, go here, or click the Chronological Disney Animated Canon tag below.
----
Off-topic, I just finished "Wolf's Rain" (I love Netflix) and... those last four episodes. My God. (It's very dusty in here...)
And I'll probably have a longer post about this later but here's the teaser trailer to the already polarizing M. Night Shamalian live-action adaptation of "Avatar".
Now already I'm being unfair in dubbing this the Dork Age (but look at what's coming up). I am so glad I gave this movie another look. Very sweet and with truly gorgeous art direction, it's now one of my favorite underrated Disney movies.
Mulan herself deserves her own paragraph. She's easily the best Disney heroine since Belle in "Beauty and the Beast" (once again, dark-haired smart girls for the waffles). In fact, she's one of the best Disney heroines of all. Why in the world is she not a part of Disney's new Heroes line? Damn long-ingrained sexism.
It is well worth it to note that this is the first movie that was almost entirely finished at the Florida studio. (The supplemental materials cheekily note that the animators frequented Epcot's China pavilion for inspiration and "mental health breaks".) Note that most of the better and more interesting movies in this chapter all come from Florida. Man, I'm officially depressed by what happened to the studio.
#48: "Tarzan"
I promise you, I watched this movie earlier this morning. But I can't remember a thing about it except for a few sweet moments, an awesome prologue, gorgeous, gorgeous backgrounds thanks to the new Deep Canvas effects technology, and... and Rosie O'Donnell singing. This last item does not reflect well on the movie as a whole.
#49: "Dinosaur"
It all comes down to those damn lemurs, doesn't it?
If there was any doubt that we're now mired in Disney's Dork Age, it will vanish entirely at around the ten minute mark. This is where one of the monkeys is peed upon by baby Aladar (and we get to see dribbles of urine, so there is absolutely no question as to what happened. Whether dinosaurs could pee [a surprising number of animals don't produce liquid wastes] or whether babies are ever born with full bladders are both subjects I'm happy to know nothing about. But if neither is true, then the scene is just worse.) Did I mention that the only reason there are monkeys in this movie is because the executives thought we stupid primates in the audience wouldn't go and see a dinosaur movie unless there was something cute and furry for us to relate to? No, really.
I can't outdo Mr. Cranky's review, which absolutely nails everything worth complaining about in this movie. But I'll give it a try because in my opinion, "Dinosaur" gets the unhappy distinction of being Disney's Worst Animated Film. And when I call it the worst, I really mean it. Like I've said before, watching all these movies in order emphasizes just how incredible Disney's reputation has grown over the years. Seeing a crappy movie come out of them at this point is just embarrassing. And one must consider how much time and money was spent on their latest crop of movies. I don't think "Robin Hood" is the worst -though it's close- simply because it was so very obviously cheap. "Dinosaur", like "The Black Cauldron" before it, cost so much time and effort that it nearly sank the studio. That makes it much worse than a flop. Other studios have flops. "Dinosaur" is, as the kids say, an Epic Fail.
I can't remember who, but another review called this the Disney version of a Michael Bay movie and that nails it too: it is a ninety-minute long effects reel. The story is boring and a complete rip off both "Land Before Time" and "The Lion King" and every "Wah wah I don't fit in" Disney story ever told. The few original plot elements are absolutely ridiculous (we're supposed to buy the idea that a troop of bouncy tree-dwellers successfully raised a very large and heavy quadruped to adulthood?) And the characters are almost impressively unlikable and some of them are just downright ugly. Just because you *can* render every single scale of dry skin flaking off of a monkey's face doesn't mean you should.
I will say this: on DVD the movie looks and sounds very impressive. Here's the thing. You can have the most amazing animation, visual effects, music, and sound design ever to grace the eyes and ears of a mere Earthling, but if your story sucks and I don't give a pair of fetid dingo's kidneys about the characters, then you have made a bad movie. You FAIL. Simple as that.
This was the first movie to come out of the CGI and special effects studio called "The Secret Lab". Disney owned and operated this new studio and (well now this is thought-provoking) is rumored to have planned on using it exclusively if they found themselves in competition with PIXAR, who were reconsidering their distribution deal with the mouse. And who were kicking the Disney movies' butts at the box office because, you see, their scripts don't suck. This plan did not end well.
#50: "Fantasia 2000"
But how's this for a saving throw?
"Fantasia 2000" goes back to the kind of things Disney is deservedly known for: it's experimental, it's groundbreaking, it has downright amazing animation, and it makes you totally forget where you are for a while. This is easily the best Disney movie of the Aughts (Aughts? Nadas? Zilches? This decade needs a catchy nickname.) and is now my favorite under-appreciated Disney movie ever.
I have to get the bad stuff out of the way first. This movie took SIXTY YEARS to get into the theater and -here's the kicker- we almost never got to see it. You see, Walt Disney's original plan for "Fantasia" was for the film to be released every decade or so with entirely new sequences. While this is technically more like an "upgrade", it does mean that this is the only movie Disney himself ever wanted to have a sequel. And this plan didn't ever get off the ground until the early 90's. (That actually goes a long way in explaining why it feels a lot more like it belongs in the Bronze Age.)
My good old VHS copy has a lovely prologue hosted by Walt Disney's nephew Roy; totally awesome because this movie was Roy Disney's baby and he personally fought to have it made and released. He explains the legacy of the "Fantasia" films and gives a very moving overview of some especially revolutionary Disney features.
I like "Fantasia 2000" a hell of a lot more than the original "Fantasia". There. I said it. Not to knock on the original's animators (and it is an amazing movie) but this has a lot more "zip", it's funnier, and -thank goodness- it isn't so damn pretentious. (Remember back in the first post? "Fantasia". Serious. Business.) Someday, others will come to appreciate it as well. Right now, it just suffers a mean "Little Sister Complex", despite the fact that everything people complain about in this film can also be found in the original. Taking all the new material segment-by-segment:
"Symphony #5" - Trippy, man. But a little easier to take than the original's Obligatory Trippy Bit as it isn't as long and has a rudimentary story.
"Pines of Rome" - I forgot to *breathe*. This must have been unreal in IMAX. Re-release, please? Or at least another DVD release?
"Rhapsody in Blue" - A workout for later-Bronze Age animator Eric Goldberg and, rumor has it, originally a stand-alone short that rapidly mutated into "Fantasia 2000" (funnily enough, the same thing happened with "Sorcerer's Apprentice" in the original). It's very, very funny with truly gorgeous character animation of a quality we haven't seen since the heyday of the Bronze Age.
"Piano Concerto #2" - Oh, Bette Midler. Why the Dali hate? Anyway, I'm not sure if this was done by the Secret Lab. In any case, it's the nicest fully-CGI piece to come out of Disney Animation proper. The cell-shading gives it a unique look, lovely and storybook quality. (Of course, anyone surprised by the radically altered happy ending needs to watch more Disney movies.)
"Carnival of the Animals" - Very cute and funny, but way too short. Eric Goldberg headed this segment too.
"Pomp and Circumstance" - I won't get too crazy here. Donald > Mickey. Also, that blink-and-you-miss-it bit with Donald and the normal ducks is just about the greatest laugh-out-loud scene in any Disney movie ever. Bonus: Frank the Frilled Dragon is in it! ("Rescuers Down Under" director Hendel Butoy supervised much of "Fantasia 2000".) So is Donald's intimidating fighting stance!
"The Firebird" - Gorgeous. The Brizzi brothers, who directed this sequence, were rumored to have their own feature in the works. Whatever became of it? And what does the River Spirit have to do to be one of the Princesses? Or Heroes...?
I have to say, if we have to wait another sixty years for the next "Fantasia", I will be sorely p*ssed. The "Smashing Pumpkins" trick works here too.
#51: "The Emperor's New Groove"
A fun little movie that, sadly, almost nobody above the age of twelve remembers. Disney does well by movies set in South America, don't they? "Emperor" is upbeat, snappy, and a real treat. Major, major props to story contributor Mark Dindel. Disney could use a lot more of his kind of humor.
Now, although I was happily surprised by how much I liked this movie, I have to say this: don't you just wish Disney would let "The Sweatbox" out of the vaults?
#52: "Atlantis: The Lost Empire"
I forget who it was, but I like the reviewer who said that, "this is the kind of movie that opens with a quote from Plato and closes with a dedication to Jim Varney. And we all know what those movies are like, right?"
Fortunately, and even with it's flaws, "Atlantis" is now on my list of good underrated Disney movies. On DVD, it looks and sounds absolutely amazing. It moves very fast, and you have to love Mike Mignola, who inspired the film's production design. The story is very derivative of every adventure movie ever made, but it's still entertaining. It's fun to see Disney experiment with a movie that doesn't fall back on their old tropes, which were worn out at this point.
It is, to my knowledge, the only feature completed at the Disney animation studio that used to be in Europe. When it failed to make as much money as "The Lion King" had (85 million vs. 330 million; Disney has a very, very warped idea of what a flop is) the Paris studio was shut down. Class.
I am apparently obligated to point out the fact that this is possibly a totally accidental and not on purpose remake of "Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water". And to that I say, whatever. Look, I've never seen, nor even heard of "Nadia" until just now reading Wikipedia. If it's true, than yes it's very bad on Disney. But, honestly, and remember how this is coming out of a dedicated cheerleader for Anime, does anybody really care? (And let's not even get into the "Lion King"/"Kimba" thing.)
Anyway, "Atlantis" is great and I'm glad I gave it another chance. Now what does Kida have to do to be a part of the Princess line? (I will keep complaining until I am told to stop it.)
#53: "Lilo & Stitch"
Here's the last Disney animated feature I saw in theaters. It isn't one of my favorites, but it's a terrific movie nonetheless. I think I related a little too well to Lilo… You know, let's just leave it at that.
You tend to forget how emotional "Lilo and Stitch" is. Everyone remembers the twisted humor; and the movie is absolutely funny as hell. But there's a darkness there too: consider how every character in this movie is messed up somehow. And yet, they're likeable. Once again, all the emotional moments are deserved. Stitch's character arc is incredibly moving. His little "Ugly Duckling" scene at around the fifty-five minute mark is just about the single saddest Disney moment ever. (While it would have been wonderful to have Disney's "Ugly Duckling" short among the special features, at least we get the teaser trailers and they're hilarious.)
"Lilo and Stitch" was the brain child of Chris Sanders, who had mostly done character designs and storyboards. His is the kind of story that reminds me why, while I love Disney movies, it's the Disney company that I have an incredibly ambivalent relationship with. For heading the most popular of the recent Disney animated features, Disney recently rewarded Sanders by kicking him off of the production team of his planned next film "American Dog". Oh, and they also rewarded the Florida studio employees for making "Lilo and Stitch" by firing them all and shutting down the studio. Oh yeah. Totally makes sense.
----
We're almost done! Next post: more disappointment and the latest Disney films at the time of writing. For more posts in this series, go here, or click the Chronological Disney Animated Canon tag below.
----
Off-topic, I just finished "Wolf's Rain" (I love Netflix) and... those last four episodes. My God. (It's very dusty in here...)
And I'll probably have a longer post about this later but here's the teaser trailer to the already polarizing M. Night Shamalian live-action adaptation of "Avatar".
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Moonwalking with tears in my eyes...
He's gone...
He's really gone...
I didn't believe it at first. Seems I'm not alone there. It's just... there are no words.
You can really only compare this to Elvis' passing. But if you were a little kid in 1983-84, this is really more like learning Santa Claus just died. It's that messed up.
Here's hoping Heaven is either just like Disneyland or E.T.'s home planet.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
The DAC: The Bronze Age part two
Well, first off, it's been a while since I shared some art. It's because I was working so hard on my portrait of my "Pokemon Platinum" team. I finally finished it. Click for huge:
#40: "Aladdin"
I have to comment on the "Aladdin" teaser trailer that appears on my copy of "Beauty and the Beast". It doesn't say a WORD about Robin Williams. Instead, the clip promotes the animators (there's Glen Keane again) and the directors as the stars of the movie. Can you imagine? I hate to pick on Dreamworks again -they really are awful about this- but consider how "Flushed Away" lists the voice actors in the opening credits as if they ever appear on screen - or had anything to do with the film other than providing voices. And then look at the end credits for "Aladdin", which puts all the animators on equal-footing with the actors.
The roots of the "guess the celebrity voice-over" trend start here with "Aladdin". This is also the first Disney movie with of-the-moment cultural references as the jokes. With these unfortunate facts in mind, I was expecting I'd have a hard time watching the movie again.
Well, forget all that. "Aladdin" is the most downright fun movie of the Bronze Age; it doesn't feel dated at all, the characters are wonderful, it's bright and full of sight gags and parental bonuses. The action scenes are amazing as well; props to PIXAR! I had forgotten how much fun it is.
It's hard to say which movie in this set is the best. At this point, they're all the best!
#41: "The Nightmare Before Christmas" - Reviewed as a Loose End in 2009.
#42: "The Lion King"
If the Box Office Numbers count for anything, then this is the most popular of all Disney animated features. Being the most popular, of course, "Lion King" has gotten a lot of backlash through the years. Some of it isn't exactly unfounded; this is indeed when they started going a little crazy with the celebrity voices. It's especially distracting when they start singing - there's no way anybody could have thought that other guy sounded anything like Matthew Broderick. Some of it is a little nuts (my favorite is the "it's a big, long pro-neocon tract" theory). And then, of course, there's the "Sex in the clouds" thing. (How come we weren't more worried about the guy who spent so much time going through Disney movies looking for stuff like that?) With all this baggage, how does "The Lion King" hold up?
Very, very well. Sure, it's an epic, mythic masterpiece with fart jokes, but the prologue is easily the greatest piece of animation Disney has done since the tracking shot over the village in "Pinocchio". "I Just Can't Wait to be King" is a wonderful Mary Blair tribute, and all of the songs are terrific.
Unfortunately for Disney, this movie set a standard that they've never been able to top...
#43: "Pocahontas"
You see, this is right about where Disney started believing the hype. Ouch.
This has the dubious distinction of being the most disappointing and boring of the Bronze Age movies (less generous fans consider "Pocahontas" the start of the Dork Age). It was also the first movie I watched after my surgery. The painkiller they've got me on is a mild narcotic, so at least the stuff about the "Colors of the Wind" and the talking tree make some sense now.
Actually, no. They really don't. This is the kind of movie that turns a historical figure into a smelly hippie chick with amazing hair (woo dark-haired girls), and has such clearly drug-induced imagery as talking trees and Mel Gibson singing. The songs are actually pretty good and the production design takes many a cue from good old Mary Blair. But really, it's amazingly, embarrassingly boring.
It didn't help that "Toy Story" would arrive this same year…
#44: "James and the Giant Peach" - Reviewed as a Loose End in 2011.
#45: "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"
Now this is more like it. I'm one of the six or seven people who like this movie. But then, there you go: six or seven people.
I thought this was brilliant, especially coming right on the heels of "Pocahontas", which was engineered not to offend anyone. It may seem an odd book for Disney to adapt but, really, have you ever sat down and read any of their other source materials? ("Sword in the Stone", I'm looking at you again.) It is essentially a rock opera, one that acknowledges that everything is better with Latin chanting. The songs are amazing. Once again, it's emotional (the use of emotional color gets a workout here), but once again the emotion is well-earned.
There is one big flaw, however: whomever came up with the gargoyle comic relief characters really needs to sit and think about what they've done. I find them a little easier to take if you assume Quasimodo is hallucinating everything they do. Of course, that makes the movie even darker than it already is. Thankfully, the next movie's a light one.
#46: "Hercules"
Lighter than a feather, really. Disney fans debate when the Bronze Age turned into Disney's Dork Age. For me, personally, it was with this exact movie. Tellingly, "Hercules" was the last of these films I saw in a theater. It left the worst taste in my mouth, and I wouldn't see another Disney movie in a theater in earnest until "Lilo and Stitch" ("Dinosaur" couldn't count even if it wanted to - my fiends and I went to that movie purposely to make fun of it.)
"Hercules" isn't that bad, really. The songs are very good and it's nice to see the Pastoral Symphony scenes in "Fantasia" get knocked down a few pegs. I also like how they took the theory that the "Superman" mythos is based mostly on the tales of Hercules and run all over town with it.
On the other hand, the weird, heavily stylized characters (by Gerald Scarfe of all people) take a long time to warm up to. More importantly, this is the kind of movie where they have a joke about overenthusiastic self-promotion with Hercules' officially licensed sandals and fast food... And then I walked through the mall on your way out of the theater and saw those EXACT sandals and fast food toys for sale in reality. Talk about trying to have your cake and eat it too.
----
Next post, the disappointing films of the late-'90s and 2000's. For more posts in this series, go here, or click the Chronological Disney Animated Canon tag below.
#40: "Aladdin"
I have to comment on the "Aladdin" teaser trailer that appears on my copy of "Beauty and the Beast". It doesn't say a WORD about Robin Williams. Instead, the clip promotes the animators (there's Glen Keane again) and the directors as the stars of the movie. Can you imagine? I hate to pick on Dreamworks again -they really are awful about this- but consider how "Flushed Away" lists the voice actors in the opening credits as if they ever appear on screen - or had anything to do with the film other than providing voices. And then look at the end credits for "Aladdin", which puts all the animators on equal-footing with the actors.
The roots of the "guess the celebrity voice-over" trend start here with "Aladdin". This is also the first Disney movie with of-the-moment cultural references as the jokes. With these unfortunate facts in mind, I was expecting I'd have a hard time watching the movie again.
Well, forget all that. "Aladdin" is the most downright fun movie of the Bronze Age; it doesn't feel dated at all, the characters are wonderful, it's bright and full of sight gags and parental bonuses. The action scenes are amazing as well; props to PIXAR! I had forgotten how much fun it is.
It's hard to say which movie in this set is the best. At this point, they're all the best!
#41: "The Nightmare Before Christmas" - Reviewed as a Loose End in 2009.
#42: "The Lion King"
If the Box Office Numbers count for anything, then this is the most popular of all Disney animated features. Being the most popular, of course, "Lion King" has gotten a lot of backlash through the years. Some of it isn't exactly unfounded; this is indeed when they started going a little crazy with the celebrity voices. It's especially distracting when they start singing - there's no way anybody could have thought that other guy sounded anything like Matthew Broderick. Some of it is a little nuts (my favorite is the "it's a big, long pro-neocon tract" theory). And then, of course, there's the "Sex in the clouds" thing. (How come we weren't more worried about the guy who spent so much time going through Disney movies looking for stuff like that?) With all this baggage, how does "The Lion King" hold up?
Very, very well. Sure, it's an epic, mythic masterpiece with fart jokes, but the prologue is easily the greatest piece of animation Disney has done since the tracking shot over the village in "Pinocchio". "I Just Can't Wait to be King" is a wonderful Mary Blair tribute, and all of the songs are terrific.
Unfortunately for Disney, this movie set a standard that they've never been able to top...
#43: "Pocahontas"
You see, this is right about where Disney started believing the hype. Ouch.
This has the dubious distinction of being the most disappointing and boring of the Bronze Age movies (less generous fans consider "Pocahontas" the start of the Dork Age). It was also the first movie I watched after my surgery. The painkiller they've got me on is a mild narcotic, so at least the stuff about the "Colors of the Wind" and the talking tree make some sense now.
Actually, no. They really don't. This is the kind of movie that turns a historical figure into a smelly hippie chick with amazing hair (woo dark-haired girls), and has such clearly drug-induced imagery as talking trees and Mel Gibson singing. The songs are actually pretty good and the production design takes many a cue from good old Mary Blair. But really, it's amazingly, embarrassingly boring.
It didn't help that "Toy Story" would arrive this same year…
#44: "James and the Giant Peach" - Reviewed as a Loose End in 2011.
#45: "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"
Now this is more like it. I'm one of the six or seven people who like this movie. But then, there you go: six or seven people.
I thought this was brilliant, especially coming right on the heels of "Pocahontas", which was engineered not to offend anyone. It may seem an odd book for Disney to adapt but, really, have you ever sat down and read any of their other source materials? ("Sword in the Stone", I'm looking at you again.) It is essentially a rock opera, one that acknowledges that everything is better with Latin chanting. The songs are amazing. Once again, it's emotional (the use of emotional color gets a workout here), but once again the emotion is well-earned.
There is one big flaw, however: whomever came up with the gargoyle comic relief characters really needs to sit and think about what they've done. I find them a little easier to take if you assume Quasimodo is hallucinating everything they do. Of course, that makes the movie even darker than it already is. Thankfully, the next movie's a light one.
#46: "Hercules"
Lighter than a feather, really. Disney fans debate when the Bronze Age turned into Disney's Dork Age. For me, personally, it was with this exact movie. Tellingly, "Hercules" was the last of these films I saw in a theater. It left the worst taste in my mouth, and I wouldn't see another Disney movie in a theater in earnest until "Lilo and Stitch" ("Dinosaur" couldn't count even if it wanted to - my fiends and I went to that movie purposely to make fun of it.)
"Hercules" isn't that bad, really. The songs are very good and it's nice to see the Pastoral Symphony scenes in "Fantasia" get knocked down a few pegs. I also like how they took the theory that the "Superman" mythos is based mostly on the tales of Hercules and run all over town with it.
On the other hand, the weird, heavily stylized characters (by Gerald Scarfe of all people) take a long time to warm up to. More importantly, this is the kind of movie where they have a joke about overenthusiastic self-promotion with Hercules' officially licensed sandals and fast food... And then I walked through the mall on your way out of the theater and saw those EXACT sandals and fast food toys for sale in reality. Talk about trying to have your cake and eat it too.
----
Next post, the disappointing films of the late-'90s and 2000's. For more posts in this series, go here, or click the Chronological Disney Animated Canon tag below.
Monday, June 22, 2009
The DAC: The Bronze Age part one
But first, here's how I spent my Summer Solstice:
Aaaaaaa-ny-way...
#34: "The Great Mouse Detective"
I think I saw this one at a very early age. Even back then, I felt as if these characters were familiar - but in a good way. They're fresh and amicable from the start.
It's as if the new generation of Disney people got the sense slapped back into them. This is a delightful movie with a fun atmosphere, wonderfully scary villains, and a brilliant hero. Honestly, the fact that I didn't remember to start taking notes until 45 minutes in tells you how compelling it is.
This is another highly underrated movie that tends to get lost in the shuffle, but it's well worth revisiting. Who knew (outside of "Thriller" of course) that Vincent Price had such an excellent singing voice? (The fact that I just pointed out that the people cast as the speaking voices were willing to sing will become important later; this isn't a policy they'd stay with.)
#35: "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"
You tend to forget how freakin' AMAZING this movie is.
Twenty years ago (man, twenty years), right from the prologue, "Roger Rabbit" was a hard kick in the face. Nobody had ever seen anything like this before. Nobody had really ever attempted anything like this before. And twenty years ago, who'd ever think that the special effects pioneered here - not to mention the even more important "there isn't anything we can't do" attitude - would be taken for granted today. No live-action/animation film since has been half as good as this one.
It's a damn shame we'll never see the oft-teased sequel. It's worth it to note that this film lent it's design aesthetic to what was until very recently the Disney/MGM Studios. It's very weird to realize that park peaked in it's first five years or so.
#36: "Oliver & Company"
I would have sworn this was released well before "Roger Rabbit". Hell, I have a hard time remembering that it came out around the same time as "The Land Before Time" (and I know I'm not supposed to compare studios at this point, but score one for Don Bluth there.) The songs are pretty good and some of the characters are fun; Glen Keane headed the character design units and his confidence in his considerable skill is starting to show. It's also interesting to point out that once again, all the actors sing (and the singers act). Honestly, the most entertaining thing on the DVD isn't the movie itself but the making-of features. They are very, very 80's and a total trip.
#37: "The Little Mermaid"
And now we're into the REALLY popular movies. I only point this out because it directly affects this project: Netflix did not have some of these available. I had to -horrors- watch my old, first-edition videos of some of them! Worse yet, the ones that Netflix did have had waits! I had to wait for them! Which means -oh the humanity- I had to WATCH THESE OUT OF ORDER!!!
The preceding paragraph was only written to bitterly make fun of myself, as I was freaking out about this. I'm absolutely sure nobody would have noticed if I hadn't said anything. *sigh*
It's hard to believe it but "The Little Mermaid" is nearly twenty years old. How many of us have the dialogue memorized? Anybody remember reenacting key scenes up at the lake (or, more accurately, IN the lake)? Remember when there were aisles and aisles of "Mermaid" toys in the toy stores for YEARS after the fact? (Personally, that was my first memory of realizing that Disney tends to milk their latest cash cow until it dies, then they start grilling the steaks, then they start making burgers, THEN they start selling the bones and the leather, ad infinitum.) This may all have to do with the fact that this is the very first fully animated film that Disney released on video shortly after it's premier in theaters, something we take for granted today. Disney obviously saw the advantage in keeping the characters in the public consciousness, as they haven't kept a new release in the "vault" before it gets a video since.
All pop-culture criticism aside, for many of us, "The Little Mermaid" is still the greatest Disney movie because we saw it at JUST the right time. The DVD is excellent; Ariel looks and sounds better than ever before. The sight gags lost to video pan-and-scanning are back, as are the throw-away one-liners muttered by the minor characters, which were illegible in the old video dub. So yes, it turns out that "Mermaid" is funny as heck. Directors Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale honed their humor in an all-but-forgotten show at Epcot's late, lamented Wonders of Life pavilion entitled "Cranium Command". The screamingly funny misadventures of a newly appointed conscience, it's well worth a look for "Mermaid" fanatics.
I think this is Disney's last hand-painted movie; everything since has been colored by computer, lending a distinctive look and better integration of special effects. I'm also pretty sure that this is the first feature to have had segments finished at the late, lamented Studio part of the Disney/MGM Hollywood Studio.
#38: "The Rescuers Down Under"
I'm actually happy to see that this one had a wait; I thought I was the only person in the world who liked it. It does mean that I had to skip it and review it later. I'm hoping this doesn't happen again (I've been extremely lucky in that respect so far), as it was a little disorienting to watch this in the middle of the movies from the 2000s.
During the insane popularity of "Little Mermaid", I was always a cheerleader for "The Rescuers Down Under". Having seen it on DVD, where it looks and sounds amazing, I still think it's one of the downright best looking Bronze Age movies. It definitely needs more love (and a better DVD release too - this is the most bare-bones Disney DVD I have ever seen) because all the new animation techniques used to make "Beauty and the Beast", "Aladdin", and "The Lion King" started here.
No film has ever given me a greater sensation of flying. If the Marahute scenes do not give you a rush, I've no idea what to say to you.
#39: "Beauty and the Beast"
Belle is my homegirl. Dark-haired girls who read books for the waffles!
I love this movie. I saw it at just the right age (if you can't tell, the Bronze Age movies are the Disney movies best remembered from my youth), and it's the one Disney movie I saw the most times in the theater. I was struck by how emotional it is; it's very dark but it's the cool kind of dark. All of the especially sad moments come out of the careful character development. It isn't at all like the original "The Rescuers", where they basically stuffed a bunch of high-tearjerk-quotient elements into the script. Here, I felt as though all of the times I got misty-eyed were well-deserved.
This is easily Disney's best integration of music, songs, animation, effects, character, story, and art. And in case "Little Mermaid" didn't convince you, in case "Down Under" didn't do it for you, here it's absolutely clear that Glen Keane is the man.
----
Next up, more of the movies people my age still call their favorites. For more posts in this series, go here, or click the Chronological Disney Animated Canon tag below.
Aaaaaaa-ny-way...
#34: "The Great Mouse Detective"
I think I saw this one at a very early age. Even back then, I felt as if these characters were familiar - but in a good way. They're fresh and amicable from the start.
It's as if the new generation of Disney people got the sense slapped back into them. This is a delightful movie with a fun atmosphere, wonderfully scary villains, and a brilliant hero. Honestly, the fact that I didn't remember to start taking notes until 45 minutes in tells you how compelling it is.
This is another highly underrated movie that tends to get lost in the shuffle, but it's well worth revisiting. Who knew (outside of "Thriller" of course) that Vincent Price had such an excellent singing voice? (The fact that I just pointed out that the people cast as the speaking voices were willing to sing will become important later; this isn't a policy they'd stay with.)
#35: "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"
You tend to forget how freakin' AMAZING this movie is.
Twenty years ago (man, twenty years), right from the prologue, "Roger Rabbit" was a hard kick in the face. Nobody had ever seen anything like this before. Nobody had really ever attempted anything like this before. And twenty years ago, who'd ever think that the special effects pioneered here - not to mention the even more important "there isn't anything we can't do" attitude - would be taken for granted today. No live-action/animation film since has been half as good as this one.
It's a damn shame we'll never see the oft-teased sequel. It's worth it to note that this film lent it's design aesthetic to what was until very recently the Disney/MGM Studios. It's very weird to realize that park peaked in it's first five years or so.
#36: "Oliver & Company"
I would have sworn this was released well before "Roger Rabbit". Hell, I have a hard time remembering that it came out around the same time as "The Land Before Time" (and I know I'm not supposed to compare studios at this point, but score one for Don Bluth there.) The songs are pretty good and some of the characters are fun; Glen Keane headed the character design units and his confidence in his considerable skill is starting to show. It's also interesting to point out that once again, all the actors sing (and the singers act). Honestly, the most entertaining thing on the DVD isn't the movie itself but the making-of features. They are very, very 80's and a total trip.
#37: "The Little Mermaid"
And now we're into the REALLY popular movies. I only point this out because it directly affects this project: Netflix did not have some of these available. I had to -horrors- watch my old, first-edition videos of some of them! Worse yet, the ones that Netflix did have had waits! I had to wait for them! Which means -oh the humanity- I had to WATCH THESE OUT OF ORDER!!!
The preceding paragraph was only written to bitterly make fun of myself, as I was freaking out about this. I'm absolutely sure nobody would have noticed if I hadn't said anything. *sigh*
It's hard to believe it but "The Little Mermaid" is nearly twenty years old. How many of us have the dialogue memorized? Anybody remember reenacting key scenes up at the lake (or, more accurately, IN the lake)? Remember when there were aisles and aisles of "Mermaid" toys in the toy stores for YEARS after the fact? (Personally, that was my first memory of realizing that Disney tends to milk their latest cash cow until it dies, then they start grilling the steaks, then they start making burgers, THEN they start selling the bones and the leather, ad infinitum.) This may all have to do with the fact that this is the very first fully animated film that Disney released on video shortly after it's premier in theaters, something we take for granted today. Disney obviously saw the advantage in keeping the characters in the public consciousness, as they haven't kept a new release in the "vault" before it gets a video since.
All pop-culture criticism aside, for many of us, "The Little Mermaid" is still the greatest Disney movie because we saw it at JUST the right time. The DVD is excellent; Ariel looks and sounds better than ever before. The sight gags lost to video pan-and-scanning are back, as are the throw-away one-liners muttered by the minor characters, which were illegible in the old video dub. So yes, it turns out that "Mermaid" is funny as heck. Directors Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale honed their humor in an all-but-forgotten show at Epcot's late, lamented Wonders of Life pavilion entitled "Cranium Command". The screamingly funny misadventures of a newly appointed conscience, it's well worth a look for "Mermaid" fanatics.
I think this is Disney's last hand-painted movie; everything since has been colored by computer, lending a distinctive look and better integration of special effects. I'm also pretty sure that this is the first feature to have had segments finished at the late, lamented Studio part of the Disney
#38: "The Rescuers Down Under"
I'm actually happy to see that this one had a wait; I thought I was the only person in the world who liked it. It does mean that I had to skip it and review it later. I'm hoping this doesn't happen again (I've been extremely lucky in that respect so far), as it was a little disorienting to watch this in the middle of the movies from the 2000s.
During the insane popularity of "Little Mermaid", I was always a cheerleader for "The Rescuers Down Under". Having seen it on DVD, where it looks and sounds amazing, I still think it's one of the downright best looking Bronze Age movies. It definitely needs more love (and a better DVD release too - this is the most bare-bones Disney DVD I have ever seen) because all the new animation techniques used to make "Beauty and the Beast", "Aladdin", and "The Lion King" started here.
No film has ever given me a greater sensation of flying. If the Marahute scenes do not give you a rush, I've no idea what to say to you.
#39: "Beauty and the Beast"
Belle is my homegirl. Dark-haired girls who read books for the waffles!
I love this movie. I saw it at just the right age (if you can't tell, the Bronze Age movies are the Disney movies best remembered from my youth), and it's the one Disney movie I saw the most times in the theater. I was struck by how emotional it is; it's very dark but it's the cool kind of dark. All of the especially sad moments come out of the careful character development. It isn't at all like the original "The Rescuers", where they basically stuffed a bunch of high-tearjerk-quotient elements into the script. Here, I felt as though all of the times I got misty-eyed were well-deserved.
This is easily Disney's best integration of music, songs, animation, effects, character, story, and art. And in case "Little Mermaid" didn't convince you, in case "Down Under" didn't do it for you, here it's absolutely clear that Glen Keane is the man.
----
Next up, more of the movies people my age still call their favorites. For more posts in this series, go here, or click the Chronological Disney Animated Canon tag below.
Friday, June 19, 2009
The Disney Animated Canon: The Dark Age, part two
#30: "Pete's Dragon"
Better known as "The Movie That Made Don Bluth Say, 'F*** It.'"
After watching this one for the first time ever, I started to think that I was a little rash in calling the late-90's/early-00's period the Dork Age. This is the "Pretty Woman" of the Disney Animated Canon (stay with me here). The original short story told a very dark, depressing story of a little orphan boy who'd escaped from his abusive foster family and retreated into a fantasy world of magic dragons.
Something obviously got lost in the adaptation here. It's either the fact that Elliot is absolutely real from the first scene or the fact that it's a musical. On the first point, Elliot is actually invisible most of the time for no other reason than saving money on special effects. On the second point, this is the kind of musical where you half expect them to start singing, "The Front Door's a Little Sticky (You Might Have To Give It A Good Kick Open)".
Mind you, aside from the dragon and the songs, the story is still very dark, which makes for a movie that is downright manic-depressive in tone. Fortunately, Don Bluth was in charge of all the animation, and the character animation on Elliot is wonderful. Too bad we only see twenty minutes of it.
#31: "The Fox and The Hound"
If I am not mistaken, this is the very first movie I ever saw in a theater. Having watched it again, I realize that in all these years, I only had the vaguest memories of it. Mostly the fact that Glen Keane (he did much of the last act, including the bear scene) is incredible.
Man, Disney was on some drama-rama kick at this time, weren't they? This time, Richard Rich is listed as one of the Directors. While he isn't as well-known as Don Bluth, he's another Disney animator who later formed his own studio. He's best known for "The Swan Princess". His other films are very eclectic (ranging from Biblical epics to annoyingly cute versions of famous musicals and E.B. White novels), but he loves drama.
"The Fox and the Hound" has got more drama per pound than some live-action movies. It's got very little incidental music and the cheerful songs and comic relief characters are instantly forgettable. It gets lost in the shuffle of other films, but it's well worth revisiting as it may be the most mature film in the Cannon. It is, essentially, "Brokeback Mountain" with cute animals. I kid you not. Watch it again.
Incidentally, it's almost worth it to watch "The Fox and the Hound 2" trailer included on the disk just for the "WTF" factor. (I don't want to spoil it but isn't this plot right out of EVERY Disney Channel sitcom ever?)
#32: "TRON"
Well, first, I need to do the obligatory thing where you sit there and reflect on the fact that you're writing a review of "TRON" on a better computer than the one they used to animate it.
(She does this.)
Duuuude...
While it was an expensive bomb back in the day, "TRON" has since grown into a cult classic and it's easy to see why; it's overall the best out of all the movies in this time period. Thanks to the remastered DVD, it looks and sounds better than ever. Very trippy and cool, it appears as though they used a similar design aesthetic for EPCOT's Future World buildings.
Hey, did you ever notice that this movie is all about gaining evidence for a copyright infringement suit?
#33: "The Black Cauldron"
Better known as "The Movie That Made Tim Burton Say, 'F*** It.'"
Even better known as "The Movie That Almost Killed The Studio. No, really."
In production for nearly twelve years, way over budget, and the first Disney movie ever to fall victim to (dunt-dunt-daa) Executive Meddling right before it's release. New big boss Michael Eisner welcomed himself to the animators by chopping several scenes out of the finished film. (Anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of animation's production process, specifically how animated features are meticulously planned from beginning to end well before anyone gets to put pencil to paper in earnest, will see how insane this was.) "Black Cauldron" bombed spectacularly in it's initial release and was kept out of circulation for decades.
When Disney finally released it on video, it was treated more as an obligation than anything. It was barely promoted and given a bare-bones release. The DVD is slightly better. At least the film is in it's original widescreen format - but it isn't anamorphic. You will learn what anamorphic means the second the movie starts, especially if you've got a 16x9 television. You'll also learn the difference between 5.1 surround sound and whatever was available in the 80's, as the soundtrack hasn't been remixed with the new technology and tends to fade in and out (I pumped up the volume to the thirties to hear the dialogue and got the sh*t scared out of me when the guard dog started barking).
For all this… I kind of liked it. Yes, it's obvious that the production was labored and plagued with problems; expect a very episodic movie. But it's a hell of a lot more interesting than the similarly-themed "Sword in the Stone" and has a far more focused plotline. It also (see what a huge difference this makes) has a great cast of villains and supporting characters. It's just bizarre how this is remembered more for what it could have been than accepted for what it is. I like The Chronicles of Prydain too and I do think a faithful film series would be quite good. But really, how come nobody levels the same kinds of "Wah, it doesn't have anything to do with the books" complaints at "The Jungle Book", or "Sword in the Stone" for that matter?
And what's Eilonwy got to do to be a part of the Princesses line?
----
Next time: The movies get good again! For more posts in this series, go here, or click the Chronological Disney Animated Canon tag below.
Better known as "The Movie That Made Don Bluth Say, 'F*** It.'"
After watching this one for the first time ever, I started to think that I was a little rash in calling the late-90's/early-00's period the Dork Age. This is the "Pretty Woman" of the Disney Animated Canon (stay with me here). The original short story told a very dark, depressing story of a little orphan boy who'd escaped from his abusive foster family and retreated into a fantasy world of magic dragons.
Something obviously got lost in the adaptation here. It's either the fact that Elliot is absolutely real from the first scene or the fact that it's a musical. On the first point, Elliot is actually invisible most of the time for no other reason than saving money on special effects. On the second point, this is the kind of musical where you half expect them to start singing, "The Front Door's a Little Sticky (You Might Have To Give It A Good Kick Open)".
Mind you, aside from the dragon and the songs, the story is still very dark, which makes for a movie that is downright manic-depressive in tone. Fortunately, Don Bluth was in charge of all the animation, and the character animation on Elliot is wonderful. Too bad we only see twenty minutes of it.
#31: "The Fox and The Hound"
If I am not mistaken, this is the very first movie I ever saw in a theater. Having watched it again, I realize that in all these years, I only had the vaguest memories of it. Mostly the fact that Glen Keane (he did much of the last act, including the bear scene) is incredible.
Man, Disney was on some drama-rama kick at this time, weren't they? This time, Richard Rich is listed as one of the Directors. While he isn't as well-known as Don Bluth, he's another Disney animator who later formed his own studio. He's best known for "The Swan Princess". His other films are very eclectic (ranging from Biblical epics to annoyingly cute versions of famous musicals and E.B. White novels), but he loves drama.
"The Fox and the Hound" has got more drama per pound than some live-action movies. It's got very little incidental music and the cheerful songs and comic relief characters are instantly forgettable. It gets lost in the shuffle of other films, but it's well worth revisiting as it may be the most mature film in the Cannon. It is, essentially, "Brokeback Mountain" with cute animals. I kid you not. Watch it again.
Incidentally, it's almost worth it to watch "The Fox and the Hound 2" trailer included on the disk just for the "WTF" factor. (I don't want to spoil it but isn't this plot right out of EVERY Disney Channel sitcom ever?)
#32: "TRON"
Well, first, I need to do the obligatory thing where you sit there and reflect on the fact that you're writing a review of "TRON" on a better computer than the one they used to animate it.
(She does this.)
Duuuude...
While it was an expensive bomb back in the day, "TRON" has since grown into a cult classic and it's easy to see why; it's overall the best out of all the movies in this time period. Thanks to the remastered DVD, it looks and sounds better than ever. Very trippy and cool, it appears as though they used a similar design aesthetic for EPCOT's Future World buildings.
Hey, did you ever notice that this movie is all about gaining evidence for a copyright infringement suit?
#33: "The Black Cauldron"
Better known as "The Movie That Made Tim Burton Say, 'F*** It.'"
Even better known as "The Movie That Almost Killed The Studio. No, really."
In production for nearly twelve years, way over budget, and the first Disney movie ever to fall victim to (dunt-dunt-daa) Executive Meddling right before it's release. New big boss Michael Eisner welcomed himself to the animators by chopping several scenes out of the finished film. (Anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of animation's production process, specifically how animated features are meticulously planned from beginning to end well before anyone gets to put pencil to paper in earnest, will see how insane this was.) "Black Cauldron" bombed spectacularly in it's initial release and was kept out of circulation for decades.
When Disney finally released it on video, it was treated more as an obligation than anything. It was barely promoted and given a bare-bones release. The DVD is slightly better. At least the film is in it's original widescreen format - but it isn't anamorphic. You will learn what anamorphic means the second the movie starts, especially if you've got a 16x9 television. You'll also learn the difference between 5.1 surround sound and whatever was available in the 80's, as the soundtrack hasn't been remixed with the new technology and tends to fade in and out (I pumped up the volume to the thirties to hear the dialogue and got the sh*t scared out of me when the guard dog started barking).
For all this… I kind of liked it. Yes, it's obvious that the production was labored and plagued with problems; expect a very episodic movie. But it's a hell of a lot more interesting than the similarly-themed "Sword in the Stone" and has a far more focused plotline. It also (see what a huge difference this makes) has a great cast of villains and supporting characters. It's just bizarre how this is remembered more for what it could have been than accepted for what it is. I like The Chronicles of Prydain too and I do think a faithful film series would be quite good. But really, how come nobody levels the same kinds of "Wah, it doesn't have anything to do with the books" complaints at "The Jungle Book", or "Sword in the Stone" for that matter?
And what's Eilonwy got to do to be a part of the Princesses line?
----
Next time: The movies get good again! For more posts in this series, go here, or click the Chronological Disney Animated Canon tag below.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
The Disney Animated Canon: The Dark Age part one
#25: "The Aristocats"
Oh, dear. If this movie sets the tone for the films made in the decade and a half after Walt's death, then this is going to be a l-o-n-g chapter…
I probably should have taken it as a real bad sign rather than a stroke of incredible good luck that Netflix sent me this DVD on the date of it's release. *Every* other new movie I've rented has had at least a short wait. That tells me that *nobody* was clamoring for a special edition of this movie. I should mention that this is one of the few pre-2000 Disney movies I haven't seen yet. And now that I have…
"Sword in the Stone" was obviously cheap. "Aristocats" is downright half-assed. I've read that the movie actually started life as a made-for-TV movie and it shows. I commend my younger self for classifying this one as skippable.
"Everybody Wants to be a Cat" is an awesome song, though. It's a little less than an hour in, so you know.
#26: "Bedknobs and Broomsticks"
"Madness? This! Is! SOCCER!!!!!"
That's the funniest thing I can think of to say for this movie and even THEN it's crap.
As with "Aristocats", while this movie was played nearly every day on the Disney Channel, I managed to never sit down and watch the whole thing - or any of it at all, come to think of it. And once again, I should have trusted the wisdom of my younger self. With annoying characters, awful songs, and a five-minute animated sequence that's downright pointless, this one was terrible.
Look, it may appear as though I'm being harsh towards this particular Age of movies but watching them in order reminds me of the reputation Disney built up over the years. Even the compilation features of the 40's were wildly creative with the animators at the top of their game and willing to experiment. And keep this in mind: from my reading, I've learned that Walt Disney was just about a total control-freak. That's the condition those wildly creative sequences were made under. So to see the studio -without a control freak looking over their shoulders (sorry, Walt)- give up on trying new things and instead make a movie that's cheap or just outright bad isn't just disappointing, it's downright embarrassing.
And as proof that creative, inventive, daring animated films were still out there (and making Disney look stuffy by comparison), consider what the competition was up to in the 70's and early 80's: "The Point", "Fritz the Cat", "La Planete Sauvage", "Allegro Non Troppo", "The Mouse and his Child", Richard Williams' "Raggedy Anne and Andy", "Watership Down", "The Castle of Cagliostro", "The Last Unicorn", "Twice Upon a Time", "Rock and Rule", and (ahem) "The Secret of N.I.M.H."
Additionally, "Bedknobs" neatly emphasizes why I don't like musicals. Try to make it through the endless "Portobello Road" number and try to tell me my dislike of the genre (they sing and dance for fifteen minutes) is unfounded.
#27: "Robin Hood"
Baloo the Bear, performed by Phil Harris, was the most popular character in "The Jungle Book". The Disney people obviously thought so too; they had him come back and do damn near the same character in two other movies, "Aristocats" and this one.
Little John actually looks a lot like Baloo. As a matter of fact, they even recycle the animation of Baloo and kindly ask us to pretend not to notice.
Also, pretend you don't notice that they have also recycled other character designs from "The Jungle Book" as well as "Aristocats" and "Bedknobs and Broomsticks". Finally, ignore the animation reused over and over again during this movie as well as the animation that was blatantly rotoscoped (copied, to put it bluntly) off each of the aforementioned films, and "Snow White"(!!!), and "Sleeping Beauty", and "Cinderella".
Dear readers, you know that I am quite quiet about my private life, so it's highly unusual to give you such information as the following: on the morning I watched this film, I had a minor invasive medical procedure. I was pretty okay afterward, but for the rest of the day I couldn't eat anything but mushy foods and -more importantly- I was unable to drink alcohol. Which is to say, I very dearly wished I had been able to do so.
A "spot the shoddy things in this movie" drinking game would have made "Robin Hood" at least a tiny bit more tolerable. The "Phony King of England" number, where the recycling is extremely obvious, would have me under the table but oh well.
What we have here is the movie with the very dubious distinction of being the single cheapest theatrical animated Disney movie ever. If "Aristocats" was half-assed, this one is downright 1/75th-assed. The best thing I can say is that it really can't get worse than this.
I have to pick on one last thing, but it really says it all. Seeing Prince John go all annoying stereotype and cry for mommy while sucking his thumb isn’t even funny the first time. We get to see the routine ten times.
#28: "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh"
So here, the Disney studio finally said, "screw everything, we'll do another compilation film." This is actually a film collecting a series of earlier "Winnie the Pooh" short films. The shorts date from 1966-1974. The first two shorts were made under Walt Disney's supervision - which means that this movie should get the hotly contested title of Walt Disney's last movie!
And you can tell the difference. This is downright refreshing. I don't even mind that it's not new material.
I always liked the last segment, "Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too", the best. I know why now: Don Bluth and his crew obviously did all the animation on Rabbit in this segment. It's some of the funniest stuff they've ever done.
Anyone who, even after all the relentless marketing, can't sit down and go "Awww" at these "Pooh" shorts has a problem.
#29: "The Rescuers"
This movie's a bit of an odd duck. Don Bluth is listed as one of the heads of the production and, really, this feels a hell of a lot more like one of his solo movies than any Disney movie. It literally has each and every one of his favorite tropes covered: little animals, sad little children, little animals being the only friends of sad little children, weird plot twists, sad music, over-the-top cruel villains, sparkly thingies, hurt-comfort scenes, epic quests, glurge-heavy ballads, and big bulky crocodiles (wait…) Watching "The Rescuers", you can see where Bluth would hammer the dents out of these favorite plot elements; sometimes they'd work better, sometimes they wouldn't.
Bernard and Ms. Bianca are fun characters, but the movie spends surprisingly little time with them. Madame Medusa is really just Cruella DeVille, only twice as psychotic and not as memorable. Penny is the real star of the movie and, honestly, her ordeal is just way too dramatic. This is the most Emo Disney movie I've seen so far. I almost couldn't take it anymore around the time they start playing the song that goes "don't cry, little one, somebody out there loves you" over and over.
It probably won't surprise anyone when I say that I was always a bigger fan of the sequel. For one thing, it has aged much better. "Rescuers" is unbelievably seventies. The music just brings soft-focus album covers to mind and a great deal of the visuals consist of seagulls flying against sunsets, right off those same album covers. While this may be the best fully-animated original film the Dark Age has to offer, I don't really know what to say about it. It's worth noting that this is one of the last films overseen by any of the Nine Old Men. From here on, the Newbies would be in charge…
---
Next Post, the N00Bs take over the studio, with mixed results. For more posts in this series, go here, or click the Chronological Disney Animated Canon tag below.
----
Incidentally, we can stop worrying about the live-action "Akira". Turns out that this will be one ill-conceived and completely unnecessary live-action remake of an animated work that isn't going to happen; thank your higher power(s) of choice for that.
And mad props to Dawn Taylor for keeping a clear head about what will (unfortunately) probably go down as the Pixar Needs Women Debacle. As a prospective animator who happens to have a uterus, I am obliged to comment on this, aren't I? I will do this later.
As far as real sexism goes, thank you for totally alienating me and all the other women in the world who have ever expressed interest in attending a Comic-Con for reasons other than screaming at pretty men, LA Times. Enjoy this jaw-dropping feature that recently ran on their website. I now firmly believe that the "Twilight" saga and it's fandom are the single most damaging entity to ever affect female nerdery. Eff that face! (Seriously naughty language in that link.)
Phew, I gotta calm down. So, is it just me or does the poster for "The Time-Traveler's Wife" (a film based upon an excellent sci-fi novel that had successfully crossed over into the mainstream largely thanks to it's female fandom) look incredibly unimaginative?
Oh, dear. If this movie sets the tone for the films made in the decade and a half after Walt's death, then this is going to be a l-o-n-g chapter…
I probably should have taken it as a real bad sign rather than a stroke of incredible good luck that Netflix sent me this DVD on the date of it's release. *Every* other new movie I've rented has had at least a short wait. That tells me that *nobody* was clamoring for a special edition of this movie. I should mention that this is one of the few pre-2000 Disney movies I haven't seen yet. And now that I have…
"Sword in the Stone" was obviously cheap. "Aristocats" is downright half-assed. I've read that the movie actually started life as a made-for-TV movie and it shows. I commend my younger self for classifying this one as skippable.
"Everybody Wants to be a Cat" is an awesome song, though. It's a little less than an hour in, so you know.
#26: "Bedknobs and Broomsticks"
"Madness? This! Is! SOCCER!!!!!"
That's the funniest thing I can think of to say for this movie and even THEN it's crap.
As with "Aristocats", while this movie was played nearly every day on the Disney Channel, I managed to never sit down and watch the whole thing - or any of it at all, come to think of it. And once again, I should have trusted the wisdom of my younger self. With annoying characters, awful songs, and a five-minute animated sequence that's downright pointless, this one was terrible.
Look, it may appear as though I'm being harsh towards this particular Age of movies but watching them in order reminds me of the reputation Disney built up over the years. Even the compilation features of the 40's were wildly creative with the animators at the top of their game and willing to experiment. And keep this in mind: from my reading, I've learned that Walt Disney was just about a total control-freak. That's the condition those wildly creative sequences were made under. So to see the studio -without a control freak looking over their shoulders (sorry, Walt)- give up on trying new things and instead make a movie that's cheap or just outright bad isn't just disappointing, it's downright embarrassing.
And as proof that creative, inventive, daring animated films were still out there (and making Disney look stuffy by comparison), consider what the competition was up to in the 70's and early 80's: "The Point", "Fritz the Cat", "La Planete Sauvage", "Allegro Non Troppo", "The Mouse and his Child", Richard Williams' "Raggedy Anne and Andy", "Watership Down", "The Castle of Cagliostro", "The Last Unicorn", "Twice Upon a Time", "Rock and Rule", and (ahem) "The Secret of N.I.M.H."
Additionally, "Bedknobs" neatly emphasizes why I don't like musicals. Try to make it through the endless "Portobello Road" number and try to tell me my dislike of the genre (they sing and dance for fifteen minutes) is unfounded.
#27: "Robin Hood"
Baloo the Bear, performed by Phil Harris, was the most popular character in "The Jungle Book". The Disney people obviously thought so too; they had him come back and do damn near the same character in two other movies, "Aristocats" and this one.
Little John actually looks a lot like Baloo. As a matter of fact, they even recycle the animation of Baloo and kindly ask us to pretend not to notice.
Also, pretend you don't notice that they have also recycled other character designs from "The Jungle Book" as well as "Aristocats" and "Bedknobs and Broomsticks". Finally, ignore the animation reused over and over again during this movie as well as the animation that was blatantly rotoscoped (copied, to put it bluntly) off each of the aforementioned films, and "Snow White"(!!!), and "Sleeping Beauty", and "Cinderella".
Dear readers, you know that I am quite quiet about my private life, so it's highly unusual to give you such information as the following: on the morning I watched this film, I had a minor invasive medical procedure. I was pretty okay afterward, but for the rest of the day I couldn't eat anything but mushy foods and -more importantly- I was unable to drink alcohol. Which is to say, I very dearly wished I had been able to do so.
A "spot the shoddy things in this movie" drinking game would have made "Robin Hood" at least a tiny bit more tolerable. The "Phony King of England" number, where the recycling is extremely obvious, would have me under the table but oh well.
What we have here is the movie with the very dubious distinction of being the single cheapest theatrical animated Disney movie ever. If "Aristocats" was half-assed, this one is downright 1/75th-assed. The best thing I can say is that it really can't get worse than this.
I have to pick on one last thing, but it really says it all. Seeing Prince John go all annoying stereotype and cry for mommy while sucking his thumb isn’t even funny the first time. We get to see the routine ten times.
#28: "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh"
So here, the Disney studio finally said, "screw everything, we'll do another compilation film." This is actually a film collecting a series of earlier "Winnie the Pooh" short films. The shorts date from 1966-1974. The first two shorts were made under Walt Disney's supervision - which means that this movie should get the hotly contested title of Walt Disney's last movie!
And you can tell the difference. This is downright refreshing. I don't even mind that it's not new material.
I always liked the last segment, "Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too", the best. I know why now: Don Bluth and his crew obviously did all the animation on Rabbit in this segment. It's some of the funniest stuff they've ever done.
Anyone who, even after all the relentless marketing, can't sit down and go "Awww" at these "Pooh" shorts has a problem.
#29: "The Rescuers"
This movie's a bit of an odd duck. Don Bluth is listed as one of the heads of the production and, really, this feels a hell of a lot more like one of his solo movies than any Disney movie. It literally has each and every one of his favorite tropes covered: little animals, sad little children, little animals being the only friends of sad little children, weird plot twists, sad music, over-the-top cruel villains, sparkly thingies, hurt-comfort scenes, epic quests, glurge-heavy ballads, and big bulky crocodiles (wait…) Watching "The Rescuers", you can see where Bluth would hammer the dents out of these favorite plot elements; sometimes they'd work better, sometimes they wouldn't.
Bernard and Ms. Bianca are fun characters, but the movie spends surprisingly little time with them. Madame Medusa is really just Cruella DeVille, only twice as psychotic and not as memorable. Penny is the real star of the movie and, honestly, her ordeal is just way too dramatic. This is the most Emo Disney movie I've seen so far. I almost couldn't take it anymore around the time they start playing the song that goes "don't cry, little one, somebody out there loves you" over and over.
It probably won't surprise anyone when I say that I was always a bigger fan of the sequel. For one thing, it has aged much better. "Rescuers" is unbelievably seventies. The music just brings soft-focus album covers to mind and a great deal of the visuals consist of seagulls flying against sunsets, right off those same album covers. While this may be the best fully-animated original film the Dark Age has to offer, I don't really know what to say about it. It's worth noting that this is one of the last films overseen by any of the Nine Old Men. From here on, the Newbies would be in charge…
---
Next Post, the N00Bs take over the studio, with mixed results. For more posts in this series, go here, or click the Chronological Disney Animated Canon tag below.
----
Incidentally, we can stop worrying about the live-action "Akira". Turns out that this will be one ill-conceived and completely unnecessary live-action remake of an animated work that isn't going to happen; thank your higher power(s) of choice for that.
And mad props to Dawn Taylor for keeping a clear head about what will (unfortunately) probably go down as the Pixar Needs Women Debacle. As a prospective animator who happens to have a uterus, I am obliged to comment on this, aren't I? I will do this later.
As far as real sexism goes, thank you for totally alienating me and all the other women in the world who have ever expressed interest in attending a Comic-Con for reasons other than screaming at pretty men, LA Times. Enjoy this jaw-dropping feature that recently ran on their website. I now firmly believe that the "Twilight" saga and it's fandom are the single most damaging entity to ever affect female nerdery. Eff that face! (Seriously naughty language in that link.)
Phew, I gotta calm down. So, is it just me or does the poster for "The Time-Traveler's Wife" (a film based upon an excellent sci-fi novel that had successfully crossed over into the mainstream largely thanks to it's female fandom) look incredibly unimaginative?
Monday, June 15, 2009
The Disney Animated Canon: The Silver Age part two
#21: "101 Dalmatians"
And now, we are in the sixties, which would prove to be a very tumultuous decade indeed. Plus, the Disney studio had a lot of shockwaves go through it at this time.
Walt Disney passed away in 1966. This was a crushing blow to everyone at the Disney studio. The Nine Old Men floundered for years and years without their leader, and as we'll see, this shows in their work.
Oddly, each of the four films that round out this Age have been advertised as "the final film Walt Disney personally produced", but who knows which one (if any of them) this is true for.
Another shockwave was the invention of a Xerox machine that could photocopy the animators' drawings directly onto cells. "101 Dalmatians" was the first movie to use this technology (they pretty much had to with all those spots) and every film from this era has a distinctive "sketchy" look. The good thing about this technology was that it made films much easier to produce. However, it also makes the films look rather cheap. There are times when you can actually see the sketchy "skeletons" of the characters, and bits of recycled animation.
All this is a prologue to me being amazed that "101 Dalmatians" immediately followed "Sleeping Beauty". I never would have guessed it. Imagine if one band, within three years, followed "Dark Side of the Moon" with "Cracked Rear View".
Come to think of it, "101 Dalmatians" is very like Hootie and the Blowfish. (Stay with me here.) It is actually a bit better than I remember, but there is still no reason whatsoever for it to be as insanely popular as it is. It's the Disney version of an action movie and it's very, very sixties. Plus the puppies are cute. And it's the source for one of the best straight-up parody episodes of "The Simpsons".
Let us not speak of the live-action remake. Or the fact that we got "Patch's Great London Adventure" and not this.
#22: "The Sword in the Stone"
I must confess, I wasn't looking forward to watching this one again. Even as a kid, I thought it was remarkably lame for a Disney feature, and (once again) it amazes me as an adult that it was released within a few years of "Sleeping Beauty". So having watched it again for the first time in probably fifteen years, what can I say?
I can say that in fact, "The Sword in the Stone" IS lame. The funny thing is, it's just as lame as I remember - not better or worse. Of all the movies I have watched thus far during this project, even the anthology features, this is the first one that genuinely feels cheap. Have you ever noticed that the plot recycles itself every twenty minutes or so (Merlin turns Arthur into something cute, he gets into some kind of misadventure, Merlin changes him back, lather rinse repeat)? The animation is downright sloppy and repetitive; we are apparently not supposed to notice when they recycle the same action over and over (the good news is, there's a drinking game to be made there). We're also not supposed to notice when they use the same dialogue over and over (take two sips for that), or when Arthur's voice changes (three sips).
And I have to go off on Arthur. All of the characters are very unappealing but he is the most annoying character in any of these films so far. He has few other expressions other than this stupid, blank gaping stare that begs to be caved in with a brick. He's the Peter Patrelli of Disney heroes.
But then… ah, the Wizard's Duel. Five minutes of genius in a sea of stupidity. It starts after the one hour mark, if you'd like to know.
This is really the first of a sort of series of book adaptations the Disney studio would pump out ever since. Almost none of them have anything to do with the source material other than the fact that the characters have the same names. I'll try to refrain from picking on them for that.
#23: "Mary Poppins"
This was the very first time I - and I hate musicals - ever watched this movie the whole way through.
I liked it.
(Pauses as everybody goes 😱.)
Well, the songs are very good; it amazes me that the Sherman brothers wrote all of these after their forgettable "Sword in the Stone" numbers. It's very long but it moves very fast. There is, really, only one slow spot (the bank scene). But on the whole, it's very fun and very cheerful.
And it's the source for another one of the best straight-up parody episodes of "The Simpsons". And don't forget "Scary Mary"!
#24: "The Jungle Book"
So this may well be the very last film Walt Disney was directly involved in, may he rest in piece. Even if that is true, this is really the Sherman Brothers and Ken Anderson and Bill Peet show. The latter two provided the memorably fun character designs. The former provided the excellent songs.
Funny thing about those songs, however. Even though "The Bear Necessities" is one of the most-often covered Disney songs, it makes absolutely no sense out of context.
Now, of course the book kicks this film's rear end from one end of India to the other. Still, with a lot of fun Parental Bonuses and a great script, this will be the most memorable fully-animated film for some time, I'm afraid.
----
Next Post: the Dark Age. For more posts in this series, go here, or click the Chronological Disney Animated Canon tag below.
And now, we are in the sixties, which would prove to be a very tumultuous decade indeed. Plus, the Disney studio had a lot of shockwaves go through it at this time.
Walt Disney passed away in 1966. This was a crushing blow to everyone at the Disney studio. The Nine Old Men floundered for years and years without their leader, and as we'll see, this shows in their work.
Oddly, each of the four films that round out this Age have been advertised as "the final film Walt Disney personally produced", but who knows which one (if any of them) this is true for.
Another shockwave was the invention of a Xerox machine that could photocopy the animators' drawings directly onto cells. "101 Dalmatians" was the first movie to use this technology (they pretty much had to with all those spots) and every film from this era has a distinctive "sketchy" look. The good thing about this technology was that it made films much easier to produce. However, it also makes the films look rather cheap. There are times when you can actually see the sketchy "skeletons" of the characters, and bits of recycled animation.
All this is a prologue to me being amazed that "101 Dalmatians" immediately followed "Sleeping Beauty". I never would have guessed it. Imagine if one band, within three years, followed "Dark Side of the Moon" with "Cracked Rear View".
Come to think of it, "101 Dalmatians" is very like Hootie and the Blowfish. (Stay with me here.) It is actually a bit better than I remember, but there is still no reason whatsoever for it to be as insanely popular as it is. It's the Disney version of an action movie and it's very, very sixties. Plus the puppies are cute. And it's the source for one of the best straight-up parody episodes of "The Simpsons".
Let us not speak of the live-action remake. Or the fact that we got "Patch's Great London Adventure" and not this.
#22: "The Sword in the Stone"
I must confess, I wasn't looking forward to watching this one again. Even as a kid, I thought it was remarkably lame for a Disney feature, and (once again) it amazes me as an adult that it was released within a few years of "Sleeping Beauty". So having watched it again for the first time in probably fifteen years, what can I say?
I can say that in fact, "The Sword in the Stone" IS lame. The funny thing is, it's just as lame as I remember - not better or worse. Of all the movies I have watched thus far during this project, even the anthology features, this is the first one that genuinely feels cheap. Have you ever noticed that the plot recycles itself every twenty minutes or so (Merlin turns Arthur into something cute, he gets into some kind of misadventure, Merlin changes him back, lather rinse repeat)? The animation is downright sloppy and repetitive; we are apparently not supposed to notice when they recycle the same action over and over (the good news is, there's a drinking game to be made there). We're also not supposed to notice when they use the same dialogue over and over (take two sips for that), or when Arthur's voice changes (three sips).
And I have to go off on Arthur. All of the characters are very unappealing but he is the most annoying character in any of these films so far. He has few other expressions other than this stupid, blank gaping stare that begs to be caved in with a brick. He's the Peter Patrelli of Disney heroes.
But then… ah, the Wizard's Duel. Five minutes of genius in a sea of stupidity. It starts after the one hour mark, if you'd like to know.
This is really the first of a sort of series of book adaptations the Disney studio would pump out ever since. Almost none of them have anything to do with the source material other than the fact that the characters have the same names. I'll try to refrain from picking on them for that.
#23: "Mary Poppins"
This was the very first time I - and I hate musicals - ever watched this movie the whole way through.
I liked it.
(Pauses as everybody goes 😱.)
Well, the songs are very good; it amazes me that the Sherman brothers wrote all of these after their forgettable "Sword in the Stone" numbers. It's very long but it moves very fast. There is, really, only one slow spot (the bank scene). But on the whole, it's very fun and very cheerful.
And it's the source for another one of the best straight-up parody episodes of "The Simpsons". And don't forget "Scary Mary"!
#24: "The Jungle Book"
So this may well be the very last film Walt Disney was directly involved in, may he rest in piece. Even if that is true, this is really the Sherman Brothers and Ken Anderson and Bill Peet show. The latter two provided the memorably fun character designs. The former provided the excellent songs.
Funny thing about those songs, however. Even though "The Bear Necessities" is one of the most-often covered Disney songs, it makes absolutely no sense out of context.
Now, of course the book kicks this film's rear end from one end of India to the other. Still, with a lot of fun Parental Bonuses and a great script, this will be the most memorable fully-animated film for some time, I'm afraid.
----
Next Post: the Dark Age. For more posts in this series, go here, or click the Chronological Disney Animated Canon tag below.
Friday, June 12, 2009
The Disney Animated Canon: The Silver Age, part one
#16: "Cinderella"
At this point, we're in the 1950's. This marked the beginning of an era of great change for Disney animation. Walt Disney himself was starting to branch out into theme parks and television and live-action features. Therefore, he wasn't always available to personally supervise the various animated films in production. On the downside, this meant the movies of this period have less of Disney's personal touch.
One the upside, it also meant the producers of the films could experiment a bit more.
All of this is buildup for me to say, with regards to "Cinderella", that after all those anthology features, this is more like it!
The film at the coveted Sweet Sixteen spot in the Canon is about as close to the Grand Unified Perfect Disney Movie as you can get. The best thing is, it doesn't hold back. I don't think you can see a more relentless show of outright bitchery onscreen than the actions of Lady Tremain (yet another fantastic villain), nor a bigger asshole in the Disney Universe than Lucifer the cat (who is there to do bitchy things when Lady Tremain is unavailable). Cinderella herself is a far, far more empathic character then Snow White. The drama is absolutely top-notch. The songs are terrific. The final act is like something out of "Die Hard". The Fairy Godmother and the mice are more great competitors for the Best Character Ever title.
I just can't praise this movie enough. It's like a long, hot bath after some of those anthology features.
#17: "Alice in Wonderland"
Me: "Squee! 'Alice in Wonderland'!"
Walt Disney: "Ugh. 'Alice in Wonderland'."
Me: "I said, 'SQUEE, "Alice in Wonderland"'!!!!!"
Which is to say, it's funny to read what the creators of these movies really thought about them. This, in Walt Disney's eyes, was his biggest disappointment. And to that I say, whatever.
(Okay, the song at about the 55 minute mark is the most dreadful Disney song thus far, and they very obviously ran out of ideas at the end, but the rest of the movie is awesome. So there.)
Have I mentioned how hard Mary Blair rocks? This is her opus. We've got yet another candidate for Best Character Ever in Cheshire Cat. And "Alice" has, by far, the best sight gags and "Parental Bonuses" in any of the classic Disney films. I finally understand the Caucus Race scene! Wee!
#18: "Peter Pan"
I guess anytime Katherine Beaumont has a solo song, that's your cue to go get a snack. The one in this movie is pretty dreadful too, but much nicer than the one in "Alice" and can even be considered a genuine tear jerker.
You've also got another great example of double-standards at Disney: they won't re-release "Song of the South", but the song here at the 50 minute mark is A-OK.
Those are the only things I can complain about here. "Peter" is another amazing movie. At this point, you could easily argue that Disney peaked in the '50's; it was, after all, the last time all of the Nine Old Men would work together on movies. The "You Can Fly" scene gives me chills.
#19: "Lady and the Tramp"
Awwwww…
Now, if "Bambi" is a tone poem, then this is a dedicated character study. I can't help but wonder if this is the beginning of how dogs have been characterized ever since or if it was always that way. It is obvious that Disney was a dog-person. I can't believe I never really noticed this before, but the whole story is told from the animals' point of view.
This is the first movie Disney made in a widescreen aspect ratio. Up until now, we've only been able to watch such films in pan-and-scan. (If you don't know the difference, pan-n-scan is a little like trying to read this through a keyhole.) It looks absolutely terrific now that the DVD allows you to watch it in it's original format.
This is also supposedly the very first time Disney made a feature-length animation based upon an original story. That is… sort of true. Follow this now: Ward Greene wrote a short story about a character who'd inspire Tramp. Joe Grant was kicking around the idea of making a movie about his dog, a Cocker Spaniel. Several years and plenty of executive meddling later, and Ward Greene found himself writing a novelization of "Lady and the Tramp", which was released the year before the movie was. Oh, Disney.
#20: "Sleeping Beauty"
The best of the Silver Age. No contest.
It's gorgeous. The music and effects are excellent. And most important of all, the characters are wonderful.
Philip finally gives us a Prince with more personality than "hot guy who gets to marry the heroine in the last act". By the end of the movie he's a genuine hero.
And he has to be. Maleficent is the best villain! There are, really, a few Disney bad guys who come close, but in terms of downright evil bitchery (her scene with Philip in the dungeon; wow) there's no wonder why she gets to be leader of the villains whenever they do a crossover.
The supporting cast is great as well. Even the minor characters are fun. You have to love the scene with the bard. Really, I can't get over how excellent this movie is. The fact that Disney didn't make another movie based upon a fairy tale until "The Little Mermaid" says a lot; it's like they knew they wouldn't be able to match this one for some time.
It's worth noting that Disney was very hard at work on Disneyland while this film was in production. And that helps a lot in explaining why the overall design of Fantasyland (Sleeping Beauty Castle of course but also other buildings and signage and such) looks a lot like "Sleeping Beauty".
----
Next Post takes us into the tumultuous sixties. For more posts in this series, go here, or click the Chronological Disney Animated Canon tag below.
----
And, I finally saw "Up" this weekend. That's another thing to talk about after this series is over.
And I've got another adventure to talk about when this series is over. Though it wasn't as spectacular in scope as the Bermuda trip I did manage to (almost) fill another whole Sketchbook. I'll tease you by saying that I still have "Octopus' Garden" in my head and with this hilarious old commercial which used to play during every commercial break ever when I was a kid:
(I can't for the life of me figure out how the building layout seen here transformed into what it looks like today. Don't tell me they really did have sharks in the pool that makes up the entire first floor?)
At this point, we're in the 1950's. This marked the beginning of an era of great change for Disney animation. Walt Disney himself was starting to branch out into theme parks and television and live-action features. Therefore, he wasn't always available to personally supervise the various animated films in production. On the downside, this meant the movies of this period have less of Disney's personal touch.
One the upside, it also meant the producers of the films could experiment a bit more.
All of this is buildup for me to say, with regards to "Cinderella", that after all those anthology features, this is more like it!
The film at the coveted Sweet Sixteen spot in the Canon is about as close to the Grand Unified Perfect Disney Movie as you can get. The best thing is, it doesn't hold back. I don't think you can see a more relentless show of outright bitchery onscreen than the actions of Lady Tremain (yet another fantastic villain), nor a bigger asshole in the Disney Universe than Lucifer the cat (who is there to do bitchy things when Lady Tremain is unavailable). Cinderella herself is a far, far more empathic character then Snow White. The drama is absolutely top-notch. The songs are terrific. The final act is like something out of "Die Hard". The Fairy Godmother and the mice are more great competitors for the Best Character Ever title.
I just can't praise this movie enough. It's like a long, hot bath after some of those anthology features.
#17: "Alice in Wonderland"
Me: "Squee! 'Alice in Wonderland'!"
Walt Disney: "Ugh. 'Alice in Wonderland'."
Me: "I said, 'SQUEE, "Alice in Wonderland"'!!!!!"
Which is to say, it's funny to read what the creators of these movies really thought about them. This, in Walt Disney's eyes, was his biggest disappointment. And to that I say, whatever.
(Okay, the song at about the 55 minute mark is the most dreadful Disney song thus far, and they very obviously ran out of ideas at the end, but the rest of the movie is awesome. So there.)
Have I mentioned how hard Mary Blair rocks? This is her opus. We've got yet another candidate for Best Character Ever in Cheshire Cat. And "Alice" has, by far, the best sight gags and "Parental Bonuses" in any of the classic Disney films. I finally understand the Caucus Race scene! Wee!
#18: "Peter Pan"
I guess anytime Katherine Beaumont has a solo song, that's your cue to go get a snack. The one in this movie is pretty dreadful too, but much nicer than the one in "Alice" and can even be considered a genuine tear jerker.
You've also got another great example of double-standards at Disney: they won't re-release "Song of the South", but the song here at the 50 minute mark is A-OK.
Those are the only things I can complain about here. "Peter" is another amazing movie. At this point, you could easily argue that Disney peaked in the '50's; it was, after all, the last time all of the Nine Old Men would work together on movies. The "You Can Fly" scene gives me chills.
#19: "Lady and the Tramp"
Awwwww…
Now, if "Bambi" is a tone poem, then this is a dedicated character study. I can't help but wonder if this is the beginning of how dogs have been characterized ever since or if it was always that way. It is obvious that Disney was a dog-person. I can't believe I never really noticed this before, but the whole story is told from the animals' point of view.
This is the first movie Disney made in a widescreen aspect ratio. Up until now, we've only been able to watch such films in pan-and-scan. (If you don't know the difference, pan-n-scan is a little like trying to read this through a keyhole.) It looks absolutely terrific now that the DVD allows you to watch it in it's original format.
This is also supposedly the very first time Disney made a feature-length animation based upon an original story. That is… sort of true. Follow this now: Ward Greene wrote a short story about a character who'd inspire Tramp. Joe Grant was kicking around the idea of making a movie about his dog, a Cocker Spaniel. Several years and plenty of executive meddling later, and Ward Greene found himself writing a novelization of "Lady and the Tramp", which was released the year before the movie was. Oh, Disney.
#20: "Sleeping Beauty"
The best of the Silver Age. No contest.
It's gorgeous. The music and effects are excellent. And most important of all, the characters are wonderful.
Philip finally gives us a Prince with more personality than "hot guy who gets to marry the heroine in the last act". By the end of the movie he's a genuine hero.
And he has to be. Maleficent is the best villain! There are, really, a few Disney bad guys who come close, but in terms of downright evil bitchery (her scene with Philip in the dungeon; wow) there's no wonder why she gets to be leader of the villains whenever they do a crossover.
The supporting cast is great as well. Even the minor characters are fun. You have to love the scene with the bard. Really, I can't get over how excellent this movie is. The fact that Disney didn't make another movie based upon a fairy tale until "The Little Mermaid" says a lot; it's like they knew they wouldn't be able to match this one for some time.
It's worth noting that Disney was very hard at work on Disneyland while this film was in production. And that helps a lot in explaining why the overall design of Fantasyland (Sleeping Beauty Castle of course but also other buildings and signage and such) looks a lot like "Sleeping Beauty".
----
Next Post takes us into the tumultuous sixties. For more posts in this series, go here, or click the Chronological Disney Animated Canon tag below.
----
And, I finally saw "Up" this weekend. That's another thing to talk about after this series is over.
And I've got another adventure to talk about when this series is over. Though it wasn't as spectacular in scope as the Bermuda trip I did manage to (almost) fill another whole Sketchbook. I'll tease you by saying that I still have "Octopus' Garden" in my head and with this hilarious old commercial which used to play during every commercial break ever when I was a kid:
(I can't for the life of me figure out how the building layout seen here transformed into what it looks like today. Don't tell me they really did have sharks in the pool that makes up the entire first floor?)
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
The Disney Animated Canon: Anthology Pictures part two
#11: "Make Mine Music!" This is the first Anthology movie where any pretenses of a coherent theme are completely tossed aside. It's literally just a bunch of shorts collected together into a feature-length package.
Fortunately, they are pretty good shorts. Once again, I remember "Peter and the Wolf", "Casey At The Bat", "The Whale Who Wanted to Sing At the Met" and a few other segments shown as individual shorts on the Disney Channel. The remaining shorts are every bit as good as the segments in "Fantasia", with experimental animation and dreamy imagery.
#12: "Fun And Fancy Free"
Jiminy Cricket introduces a pair of featurettes narrated by guest stars Dinah Shore and Edger Bergman. This framing device is only interesting because Jiminy is still one of the best characters ever, even when demoted to the role of M.C. Also, Bergman narrates both as himself and in-character as Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. The two featurettes in question are so inconsistent in quality that I might as well consider them separate movies:
"Bongo" - The good news is that this segment showcases quite a lot of shameless self-parody. It's all too rare to see Disney taking their own pretentiousness down a few pegs. Other than that, there's nothing to recommend this bland, bland, bland "LOL, The Cute Little Animal's Way Out Of His Element" story (is anyone else sick to death of these?) Bonus points for the Warped Aesop: I commend my younger self for finding the "Bears Like To Say It With A Slap" number all wrong, even back then.
"Mickey And The Beanstalk" - But then… oh, but then! This segment is amazing! It's every bit as epic as any of the features, and it's everything a Mickey Mouse movie should be. Willy the Giant is another contender for best character ever.
#13: "So Dear To My Heart"
#14: "Melody Time"
Very similar in format to "Make Mine Music", and almost interchangeable with the older movie except that the title isn't so darn bizarre.
This time they aren't even kidding about this being a bunch of shorts stuck together in a feature-length format. It's more interesting to point out the little strange things at this point. I've overlooked Disney's emotional use of color, which is given a real workout here. I haven't emphasized enough how awesome Mary Blair's production design is. I call shenanigans on something in the "Johnny Appleseed" short; aside from plastic pink flamingos, being John Chapman's birthplace is one of the few things Leominster has going for it so don't take it away from them (the short implies he was born in Pittsburgh). I finally have to say it, since this is the third film in which they appear together, and dance together, and drink together, and so forth together: Donald + Jose Carioca = HoYay. And lastly, I know they have a well-justified anti-smoking agenda. But I love how, for Disney, Pecos Bill's cigarette is a no-no, but showing him shooting every darn thing that moves is a-okay.
Really, at this point, the most interesting thing about the Anthology Features is getting to see Ub Iwerk's name in the credits. Lord knows, there's got to be an interesting story there.
#15: "The Adventures Of Ichabod And Mr. Toad"
Very similar to "Fun And Fancy Free" in that we have two shorter features narrated by special guest stars and connected by a flimsy story and yet another really strange title (bonus points for the bizarre "Ichabod! Ichabod!" theme song as well).
The fact that Basil Rathbone narrates "The Wind in the Willows" alone makes the segment fun. Other than that, it's just a strange, very pragmatic, and rather dull adaptation of the least interesting parts of the book. The characters and their physical designs are surprisingly unappealing too; I found it hard to root for anyone. I felt this way with "Bongo", and I feel it for this too: if this were a feature-length film, I'd have to consider it a flop. (Though you had to love "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" back in the day.)
There's a definite feeling of "Aw, let's just get this overwith" to Bing Crosby's narration of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", which does not help the early parts of the film. Once again, it's a pragmatic and dull adaptation with weird, unlikable characters and a boring story…
Until they get to Ichabod Crane's harrowing ride home from the Halloween party. Then it rules! It's the gutsiest, scariest sequence in this entire group of movies, and it's a sign that the greatness would return soon…
----
Next Post, the greatness returns with a sad girl who cleans with her animal friends. For more posts in this series, go here, or click the Chronological Disney Animated Canon tag below.
Fortunately, they are pretty good shorts. Once again, I remember "Peter and the Wolf", "Casey At The Bat", "The Whale Who Wanted to Sing At the Met" and a few other segments shown as individual shorts on the Disney Channel. The remaining shorts are every bit as good as the segments in "Fantasia", with experimental animation and dreamy imagery.
#12: "Fun And Fancy Free"
Jiminy Cricket introduces a pair of featurettes narrated by guest stars Dinah Shore and Edger Bergman. This framing device is only interesting because Jiminy is still one of the best characters ever, even when demoted to the role of M.C. Also, Bergman narrates both as himself and in-character as Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. The two featurettes in question are so inconsistent in quality that I might as well consider them separate movies:
"Bongo" - The good news is that this segment showcases quite a lot of shameless self-parody. It's all too rare to see Disney taking their own pretentiousness down a few pegs. Other than that, there's nothing to recommend this bland, bland, bland "LOL, The Cute Little Animal's Way Out Of His Element" story (is anyone else sick to death of these?) Bonus points for the Warped Aesop: I commend my younger self for finding the "Bears Like To Say It With A Slap" number all wrong, even back then.
"Mickey And The Beanstalk" - But then… oh, but then! This segment is amazing! It's every bit as epic as any of the features, and it's everything a Mickey Mouse movie should be. Willy the Giant is another contender for best character ever.
#13: "So Dear To My Heart"
#14: "Melody Time"
Very similar in format to "Make Mine Music", and almost interchangeable with the older movie except that the title isn't so darn bizarre.
This time they aren't even kidding about this being a bunch of shorts stuck together in a feature-length format. It's more interesting to point out the little strange things at this point. I've overlooked Disney's emotional use of color, which is given a real workout here. I haven't emphasized enough how awesome Mary Blair's production design is. I call shenanigans on something in the "Johnny Appleseed" short; aside from plastic pink flamingos, being John Chapman's birthplace is one of the few things Leominster has going for it so don't take it away from them (the short implies he was born in Pittsburgh). I finally have to say it, since this is the third film in which they appear together, and dance together, and drink together, and so forth together: Donald + Jose Carioca = HoYay. And lastly, I know they have a well-justified anti-smoking agenda. But I love how, for Disney, Pecos Bill's cigarette is a no-no, but showing him shooting every darn thing that moves is a-okay.
Really, at this point, the most interesting thing about the Anthology Features is getting to see Ub Iwerk's name in the credits. Lord knows, there's got to be an interesting story there.
#15: "The Adventures Of Ichabod And Mr. Toad"
Very similar to "Fun And Fancy Free" in that we have two shorter features narrated by special guest stars and connected by a flimsy story and yet another really strange title (bonus points for the bizarre "Ichabod! Ichabod!" theme song as well).
The fact that Basil Rathbone narrates "The Wind in the Willows" alone makes the segment fun. Other than that, it's just a strange, very pragmatic, and rather dull adaptation of the least interesting parts of the book. The characters and their physical designs are surprisingly unappealing too; I found it hard to root for anyone. I felt this way with "Bongo", and I feel it for this too: if this were a feature-length film, I'd have to consider it a flop. (Though you had to love "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" back in the day.)
There's a definite feeling of "Aw, let's just get this overwith" to Bing Crosby's narration of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", which does not help the early parts of the film. Once again, it's a pragmatic and dull adaptation with weird, unlikable characters and a boring story…
Until they get to Ichabod Crane's harrowing ride home from the Halloween party. Then it rules! It's the gutsiest, scariest sequence in this entire group of movies, and it's a sign that the greatness would return soon…
----
Next Post, the greatness returns with a sad girl who cleans with her animal friends. For more posts in this series, go here, or click the Chronological Disney Animated Canon tag below.
Monday, June 8, 2009
The Disney Animated Canon: Anthology Pictures, part one
#7: "Saludos Amigos" A decidedly odd film, this was really more of a travelogue intended to inspire solidarity between North and South America. It and the semi-sequel "The Three Caballeros" are actually often called "The Goodwill Films" by fans.
Ending just short of 42 minutes, this is almost impressively brief. It's a fun curiosity however. The "Aquarela do Brasil" is every bit as good as "Fantasia" (and I still have the song in my head) and we also get to see the wonderful production artwork of Mary Blair. Doing this project made me into a big fan of hers.
As with most of the Anthologies, fellow Disney Channel brats will recall the segments being shown as individual cartoons.
#8: "Victory Through Air Power" This was the strangest and most obscure movie I reviewed during this project.
Many Disney fans have never even heard of it. Those that do know about probably passed it over as the most dated of the Disney movies. Either that or they can't get past the idea of what amounts to an animated documentary.
I thought it was fascinating. It is indeed a documentary and the animation is used to illustrate various concepts (it will remind fellow early Disney Channel brats of those weird, sci-fi "Journey to Mars" specials shown on old episodes of "The Wonderful World of Disney"; as a matter of fact, I recognized scenes in this movie from those shows). Starting with a brief history of aviation, the documentary goes on to explain how crucial flight and geography were during World War Two.
This results in, really, the first straight-up action movie in western animation. I heartily recommend it to history buffs and (this is the Education Major in me) to high school students. You can find it in the "Walt Disney on the Front Lines" boxed set. The set also includes a number of Wartime cartoons. Certainly, Warner Bros. wartime cartoons are much better known, but the Disney ones are quite good as well. They tend to have a darker humor than Disney is usually known for.
#9: "The Three Caballeros" Or, "Donald's Wacky Peyote Trip!"
You cannot convince me that's not what's going on in the last twenty minutes or so.
In all seriousness, this is a cult hit and I can see why. It's probably the weirdest Disney movie of this era.
With these compilation films, you can tell that without such a silly little thing as a cohesive plot the animators got a chance to really cut loose. I just love the film's "Screw you, logic, we draw what we want!"
Furthermore, Donald is awesome. (Though I have to say, the Acapulco beach scene is fairly unsettling. It used to confuse the heck out of me as a little kid. What would Daisy say?)
#10: "Song of the South" Along with the other Loose Ends, gets it's own big, long essay.
----
Next post, we'll finish the Anthology Features. For more posts in this series, go here, or click the Chronological Disney Animated Canon tag below.
Ending just short of 42 minutes, this is almost impressively brief. It's a fun curiosity however. The "Aquarela do Brasil" is every bit as good as "Fantasia" (and I still have the song in my head) and we also get to see the wonderful production artwork of Mary Blair. Doing this project made me into a big fan of hers.
As with most of the Anthologies, fellow Disney Channel brats will recall the segments being shown as individual cartoons.
#8: "Victory Through Air Power" This was the strangest and most obscure movie I reviewed during this project.
Many Disney fans have never even heard of it. Those that do know about probably passed it over as the most dated of the Disney movies. Either that or they can't get past the idea of what amounts to an animated documentary.
I thought it was fascinating. It is indeed a documentary and the animation is used to illustrate various concepts (it will remind fellow early Disney Channel brats of those weird, sci-fi "Journey to Mars" specials shown on old episodes of "The Wonderful World of Disney"; as a matter of fact, I recognized scenes in this movie from those shows). Starting with a brief history of aviation, the documentary goes on to explain how crucial flight and geography were during World War Two.
This results in, really, the first straight-up action movie in western animation. I heartily recommend it to history buffs and (this is the Education Major in me) to high school students. You can find it in the "Walt Disney on the Front Lines" boxed set. The set also includes a number of Wartime cartoons. Certainly, Warner Bros. wartime cartoons are much better known, but the Disney ones are quite good as well. They tend to have a darker humor than Disney is usually known for.
#9: "The Three Caballeros" Or, "Donald's Wacky Peyote Trip!"
You cannot convince me that's not what's going on in the last twenty minutes or so.
In all seriousness, this is a cult hit and I can see why. It's probably the weirdest Disney movie of this era.
With these compilation films, you can tell that without such a silly little thing as a cohesive plot the animators got a chance to really cut loose. I just love the film's "Screw you, logic, we draw what we want!"
Furthermore, Donald is awesome. (Though I have to say, the Acapulco beach scene is fairly unsettling. It used to confuse the heck out of me as a little kid. What would Daisy say?)
#10: "Song of the South" Along with the other Loose Ends, gets it's own big, long essay.
----
Next post, we'll finish the Anthology Features. For more posts in this series, go here, or click the Chronological Disney Animated Canon tag below.
Friday, June 5, 2009
The Chronological Animated Disney Canon - The Golden Age part 2
Loose End #4: "The Reluctant Dragon"
Film #5: "Dumbo"
It cracks me up how I had to watch "Snow White", "Pinocchio", and "Fantasia" on VHS but that I can watch "Dumbo" on DVD. According to legend, the only reason why this movie exists is because…
Well, let's just say that even Disney's biggest fans at the time didn't really understand where he was trying to go with "Fantasia" and the film didn't become an appreciated hit until it's re-release in the 60's (tellingly, a great number of experimental animated features were made and released that decade). "Dumbo" was a small-budget feature basically made to recoup the studio's financial losses!
The movie is about as lightweight as Dumbo would have to be in order to fly (heh). I like it, it's fun and it's cute but it's also admittedly not as memorable as it's predecessors. This is all except for two key sequences that make "Dumbo" more memorable than it otherwise would have been:
The first is the "Baby Mine" sequence and the events leading up to it. If you can make it through this without feeling anything, you have a problem.
The second is the infamous Pink Elephants scene! You gotta love it. Bonus points for being the center of one of those showbiz legends that's too good not to be true: It seems one of the animators who produced the sequence was asked, during an interview, "just between us, what were you on when you came up with the Pink Elephants?" And he answered, "Nothing. That's just how my mind worked normally."
Frankly, that scenario is a bit more unsettling.
Film # 6: "Bambi"
As close to a subtle tone poem as Disney has ever done. There's barely any dialogue at all, and much of the story is told only through music, color, and amazingly good characterization and animation. (Dear Dreamworks PDI, you're doing it wrong.)
And it's short! It tops out at only five minutes more than one hour. As with "Dumbo", you barely notice until it's over.
It doesn't take a genius to surmise that this is the favorite, favorite Disney film of Osamu Tezuka and Don Bluth. And I have to say, the courtship of Thumper is just about the funniest Disney moment ever.
----
Next Post: We dive into the first of Disney's Anthology Pictures: "Saludos Amigos," "Victory Through Air Power," and "The Three Caballeros". For more posts in this series, go here, or click the Chronological Disney Animated Canon tag below.
----
And tomorrow is Drawing Day! If you are going to be online tomorrow, help the Drawing Day team reach their goal of one million drawings uploaded in one day!
I'm still sick and feeling like hell. Thankfully, as far as my doctor can tell, it isn't the Dreaded Overhyped Flu of the Year. It's just a sinus infection. A sinus infection that is making me feel miserable like a cold hasn't made me feel since I was a little kid. My fillings hurt.
But I am enjoying the antibiotics. If you are also sick, here is an extra: raise a mug of herbal tea and relate too hard to Goofy in this cartoon where his creepy earless Anthro George Geef persona fights 50's era chemical warfare against whatever outbreak was going on back then.
Film #5: "Dumbo"
It cracks me up how I had to watch "Snow White", "Pinocchio", and "Fantasia" on VHS but that I can watch "Dumbo" on DVD. According to legend, the only reason why this movie exists is because…
Well, let's just say that even Disney's biggest fans at the time didn't really understand where he was trying to go with "Fantasia" and the film didn't become an appreciated hit until it's re-release in the 60's (tellingly, a great number of experimental animated features were made and released that decade). "Dumbo" was a small-budget feature basically made to recoup the studio's financial losses!
The movie is about as lightweight as Dumbo would have to be in order to fly (heh). I like it, it's fun and it's cute but it's also admittedly not as memorable as it's predecessors. This is all except for two key sequences that make "Dumbo" more memorable than it otherwise would have been:
The first is the "Baby Mine" sequence and the events leading up to it. If you can make it through this without feeling anything, you have a problem.
The second is the infamous Pink Elephants scene! You gotta love it. Bonus points for being the center of one of those showbiz legends that's too good not to be true: It seems one of the animators who produced the sequence was asked, during an interview, "just between us, what were you on when you came up with the Pink Elephants?" And he answered, "Nothing. That's just how my mind worked normally."
Frankly, that scenario is a bit more unsettling.
Film # 6: "Bambi"
As close to a subtle tone poem as Disney has ever done. There's barely any dialogue at all, and much of the story is told only through music, color, and amazingly good characterization and animation. (Dear Dreamworks PDI, you're doing it wrong.)
And it's short! It tops out at only five minutes more than one hour. As with "Dumbo", you barely notice until it's over.
It doesn't take a genius to surmise that this is the favorite, favorite Disney film of Osamu Tezuka and Don Bluth. And I have to say, the courtship of Thumper is just about the funniest Disney moment ever.
----
Next Post: We dive into the first of Disney's Anthology Pictures: "Saludos Amigos," "Victory Through Air Power," and "The Three Caballeros". For more posts in this series, go here, or click the Chronological Disney Animated Canon tag below.
----
And tomorrow is Drawing Day! If you are going to be online tomorrow, help the Drawing Day team reach their goal of one million drawings uploaded in one day!
I'm still sick and feeling like hell. Thankfully, as far as my doctor can tell, it isn't the Dreaded Overhyped Flu of the Year. It's just a sinus infection. A sinus infection that is making me feel miserable like a cold hasn't made me feel since I was a little kid. My fillings hurt.
But I am enjoying the antibiotics. If you are also sick, here is an extra: raise a mug of herbal tea and relate too hard to Goofy in this cartoon where his creepy earless Anthro George Geef persona fights 50's era chemical warfare against whatever outbreak was going on back then.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
The Chronological Animated Disney Canon - The Golden Age part one
The reason why I'm not gushing about my trip last week yet is because I had the Disney Animated Films posts all set to go and it would be a total pain to shuffle their dates at this point. But the other reason is because I am sick as a dog. There were more sneezing, coughing people in the little room we waited in to leave the boat than there were during the entire trip, and I think I caught some horrible rare disease from one of them. Been coughing up a lung since Sunday night.
Speaking of, here is how I felt Sunday night, in all it's crappy MS Paint glory:
Yeah, this sucks. On to the Disney Movies!
The Very First Animated Disney Feature Film: "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves"
I have to admit, I never particularly counted "Snow White" among my favorite Disney movies. And that is damn weird for me to say because, honestly, I have only sat down and watched the thing twice.
Some background is in order for readers still in their teens. Believe it or not, there was a time, not very long ago, when Disney was awful about releasing their animated films on home video. The long, weird story of Disney movies on home video/DVD release can be read on this Wikipedia page, but the short story is that throughout the early to mid-80's, you either watched the movies in the theater during their rare re-releases or not at all.
Gradually, Disney movies did make their way onto video but it was a long and rather nonsensical process. ("Pinocchio", which may be the greatest Disney animated film ever, was one of the first ones on video but the craptacular "The Sword In The Stone" was kept off shelves because it was one of the "untouchable seminal films upon which our legacy was based". Seriously.) In a situation rather similar to that of "E.T.", Disney originally teased that they would never release "Snow White" on home video. We Disney Channel brats had to settle for teasing tidbits dispersed throughout clip shows and such. The Dwarves' marching songs here, the Queen's transformation sequence there, "Whistle While You Work" over there and so on. That, more than anything, built the movie's reputation up in our minds.
Disney held out on their vow not to release "Snow White" onto video until 1994, and with my love of a good ironic ending to a story, I'm actually kind of glad the movie wasn't available on Netflix. I watched "Snow White" on one of the original videos published in '94.
On the whole, the movie is much, much better than I recall. There are a lot of things Disney would do better in future films, however. Snow White herself is one of the blandest heroines Disney ever devised. Her big scene comes when she stumbles into the Dwarves' bachelor pad and immediately starts playing Suzy Homemaker. Later, she addresses the dwarves like a teacher shepherding a rowdy Kindergarten class. She spends the last act of the movie asleep and I really didn't notice much.
But while Snowy is almost too ditzy to live, she's at least more interesting than the Prince. He doesn't even get a proper name! You can't call yourself a Disney fan if you don't transpose the lyrics of his one big number to: "One line! / I have but one line! / One line in this whole movie!!!"
Ah, but the Dwarves are wonderful. It's really quite impressive when you think about it; we have here seven fairly identical people but each one of them has a unique personality. There is a point about a half hour into the movie where they first arrive at their newly cleaned home and the pacing threatens to grind to a halt (one thing I noticed on this viewing is that, save for this one scene, the movie is almost an opera). But then, during this sequence, each of the Dwarves gets his own great, funny little character moment. It's wonderful.
Rounding out the cast, I have to admit the Wicked Queen owns the whole show. She's all resentment and intimidation. The first in a long line of great Disney movie villains, she sets the standard very high.
The special effects are amazing, especially when you realize that they must have taken months and months to do at the time. Overall, I'm glad that I gave this another look.
Film #2: "Pinocchio"
Sincere and scary, this is the best of the Golden Age. It could easily be the best Disney movie ever.
Doing the research for this project, and specifically the home video release history of these films, I was struck by a couple of revelatory things:
1) The first wave of animated Disney movies released on Home Video did not include any previews. In fact, they had no advertisements on them in any way, shape or form.
Repeat: Disney movies. Released for home viewing. With NO commercials. None.
Ten minutes of commercials of all imaginable kinds in front of "Pinocchio" later, that kind of trivia breaks my brain.
2) Pinocchio is only the second full-length feature Disney made, but it's never been treated as well as "Snow White". As a matter of fact, while Disney threatened to never release "Snow White" on video, "Pinocchio" was one of the first five or so features released!
This is especially weird to me because, let's face it, "Pinocchio" tops it's big sister in every way. The special effects are jaw-dropping. It's the most dramatic of the features (indeed, it's more tense than many live-action thrillers I have watched) and it pointedly does not avoid scaring the hell out of the audience. It's greatest achievement, from a storytelling standpoint, is understanding how kids really see the world.
And it is also very, very funny. People tend to forget that. Jiminy Cricket is just about the best character ever and everything he says is hilarious (his exchange with the Blue Fairy is wonderful and easily overlooked; you wonder how much of it was scripted).
This is early Disney at its peak.
Film # 3: "Fantasia"
Well, first things first. This movie is taken way too damn seriously, especially in the animation fandom. There. I said it. The thing centers largely around dancing animals for cryin' out loud!
"Fantasia" is the first really wildly inconsistent Golden Age Disney movie (it's long-delayed sequel is often panned as being inconsistent, which is just about the dumbest argument ever; inconsistency runs in the "Fantasia" family). Fortunately, it's also an anthology movie. As you'll see, Disney made several of these. Most of them centered around music in some way. It seems more fair to approach such features as several short films rather than one long and confusing movie. Therefore:
"Toccata and Fugue" - Trippy, man. Trippy.
"Nutcracker" - Very nice with excellent effects.
"Sorcerer's Apprentice" - Everyone's favorite. I like it too but it struck me, this time, how odd it looks in context as it's the only segment with a real plot!
"Rite of Spring" - Cool. You can tell the animators were testing their skills on realistic animals, probably as preparation for "Bambi". And it's very strange how influential this one sequence is (early Dinosaur artists copied Charles Knight; early Dinosaur film-makers copied this. Heck, what am I saying "early"? You can see echoes of this as recent as "Land Before Time"!)
"Pastoral" - I always hated this bit. Really, without the Beethoven, this has as much artistic merit as a particularly good episode of "My Little Pony".
"Dance of the Hours" - It's fun. There's some wonderful character animation here.
"Bald Mountain"/"Ave Maria" - Now here's an amazing sequence. It's also our second encounter with a show-stealing villain. As a matter of fact, I'm sure many people completely forget the "Ave Maria" finale (it is a nice sequence with one wonderful effect, but it's amazingly anticlimactic).
It's funny how "Fantasia" was never supposed to be released on video either. Once again, us Disney Channel brats only got to see disconnected bits and pieces here and there. Often, we had no clue that these were all from the same movie. I remember finally getting to see what all the fuss was about and being just a little disillusioned ("Wait, that whole bit with the dancing hippos is "Fantasia"?!) Topping this off, when "Fantasia" was finally released on video, it had no previews (which had become a trademark of Disney videos by then) and it's clamshell box was black. Serious. Business.
I like the movie better now.
Oh, and for the record, the "Fantasia"/Smashing Pumpkins trick really does work. Mostly because there isn't really a wrong way to do it.
----
Next Post: "Dumbo" and "Bambi". For more posts in this series, go here, or click the Chronological Disney Animated Canon tag below.
Speaking of, here is how I felt Sunday night, in all it's crappy MS Paint glory:
Yeah, this sucks. On to the Disney Movies!The Very First Animated Disney Feature Film: "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves"
I have to admit, I never particularly counted "Snow White" among my favorite Disney movies. And that is damn weird for me to say because, honestly, I have only sat down and watched the thing twice.
Some background is in order for readers still in their teens. Believe it or not, there was a time, not very long ago, when Disney was awful about releasing their animated films on home video. The long, weird story of Disney movies on home video/DVD release can be read on this Wikipedia page, but the short story is that throughout the early to mid-80's, you either watched the movies in the theater during their rare re-releases or not at all.
Gradually, Disney movies did make their way onto video but it was a long and rather nonsensical process. ("Pinocchio", which may be the greatest Disney animated film ever, was one of the first ones on video but the craptacular "The Sword In The Stone" was kept off shelves because it was one of the "untouchable seminal films upon which our legacy was based". Seriously.) In a situation rather similar to that of "E.T.", Disney originally teased that they would never release "Snow White" on home video. We Disney Channel brats had to settle for teasing tidbits dispersed throughout clip shows and such. The Dwarves' marching songs here, the Queen's transformation sequence there, "Whistle While You Work" over there and so on. That, more than anything, built the movie's reputation up in our minds.
Disney held out on their vow not to release "Snow White" onto video until 1994, and with my love of a good ironic ending to a story, I'm actually kind of glad the movie wasn't available on Netflix. I watched "Snow White" on one of the original videos published in '94.
On the whole, the movie is much, much better than I recall. There are a lot of things Disney would do better in future films, however. Snow White herself is one of the blandest heroines Disney ever devised. Her big scene comes when she stumbles into the Dwarves' bachelor pad and immediately starts playing Suzy Homemaker. Later, she addresses the dwarves like a teacher shepherding a rowdy Kindergarten class. She spends the last act of the movie asleep and I really didn't notice much.
But while Snowy is almost too ditzy to live, she's at least more interesting than the Prince. He doesn't even get a proper name! You can't call yourself a Disney fan if you don't transpose the lyrics of his one big number to: "One line! / I have but one line! / One line in this whole movie!!!"
Ah, but the Dwarves are wonderful. It's really quite impressive when you think about it; we have here seven fairly identical people but each one of them has a unique personality. There is a point about a half hour into the movie where they first arrive at their newly cleaned home and the pacing threatens to grind to a halt (one thing I noticed on this viewing is that, save for this one scene, the movie is almost an opera). But then, during this sequence, each of the Dwarves gets his own great, funny little character moment. It's wonderful.
Rounding out the cast, I have to admit the Wicked Queen owns the whole show. She's all resentment and intimidation. The first in a long line of great Disney movie villains, she sets the standard very high.
The special effects are amazing, especially when you realize that they must have taken months and months to do at the time. Overall, I'm glad that I gave this another look.
Film #2: "Pinocchio"
Sincere and scary, this is the best of the Golden Age. It could easily be the best Disney movie ever.
Doing the research for this project, and specifically the home video release history of these films, I was struck by a couple of revelatory things:
1) The first wave of animated Disney movies released on Home Video did not include any previews. In fact, they had no advertisements on them in any way, shape or form.
Repeat: Disney movies. Released for home viewing. With NO commercials. None.
Ten minutes of commercials of all imaginable kinds in front of "Pinocchio" later, that kind of trivia breaks my brain.
2) Pinocchio is only the second full-length feature Disney made, but it's never been treated as well as "Snow White". As a matter of fact, while Disney threatened to never release "Snow White" on video, "Pinocchio" was one of the first five or so features released!
This is especially weird to me because, let's face it, "Pinocchio" tops it's big sister in every way. The special effects are jaw-dropping. It's the most dramatic of the features (indeed, it's more tense than many live-action thrillers I have watched) and it pointedly does not avoid scaring the hell out of the audience. It's greatest achievement, from a storytelling standpoint, is understanding how kids really see the world.
And it is also very, very funny. People tend to forget that. Jiminy Cricket is just about the best character ever and everything he says is hilarious (his exchange with the Blue Fairy is wonderful and easily overlooked; you wonder how much of it was scripted).
This is early Disney at its peak.
Film # 3: "Fantasia"
Well, first things first. This movie is taken way too damn seriously, especially in the animation fandom. There. I said it. The thing centers largely around dancing animals for cryin' out loud!
"Fantasia" is the first really wildly inconsistent Golden Age Disney movie (it's long-delayed sequel is often panned as being inconsistent, which is just about the dumbest argument ever; inconsistency runs in the "Fantasia" family). Fortunately, it's also an anthology movie. As you'll see, Disney made several of these. Most of them centered around music in some way. It seems more fair to approach such features as several short films rather than one long and confusing movie. Therefore:
"Toccata and Fugue" - Trippy, man. Trippy.
"Nutcracker" - Very nice with excellent effects.
"Sorcerer's Apprentice" - Everyone's favorite. I like it too but it struck me, this time, how odd it looks in context as it's the only segment with a real plot!
"Rite of Spring" - Cool. You can tell the animators were testing their skills on realistic animals, probably as preparation for "Bambi". And it's very strange how influential this one sequence is (early Dinosaur artists copied Charles Knight; early Dinosaur film-makers copied this. Heck, what am I saying "early"? You can see echoes of this as recent as "Land Before Time"!)
"Pastoral" - I always hated this bit. Really, without the Beethoven, this has as much artistic merit as a particularly good episode of "My Little Pony".
"Dance of the Hours" - It's fun. There's some wonderful character animation here.
"Bald Mountain"/"Ave Maria" - Now here's an amazing sequence. It's also our second encounter with a show-stealing villain. As a matter of fact, I'm sure many people completely forget the "Ave Maria" finale (it is a nice sequence with one wonderful effect, but it's amazingly anticlimactic).
It's funny how "Fantasia" was never supposed to be released on video either. Once again, us Disney Channel brats only got to see disconnected bits and pieces here and there. Often, we had no clue that these were all from the same movie. I remember finally getting to see what all the fuss was about and being just a little disillusioned ("Wait, that whole bit with the dancing hippos is "Fantasia"?!) Topping this off, when "Fantasia" was finally released on video, it had no previews (which had become a trademark of Disney videos by then) and it's clamshell box was black. Serious. Business.
I like the movie better now.
Oh, and for the record, the "Fantasia"/Smashing Pumpkins trick really does work. Mostly because there isn't really a wrong way to do it.
----
Next Post: "Dumbo" and "Bambi". For more posts in this series, go here, or click the Chronological Disney Animated Canon tag below.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)